Stuff, Italian Style

Italian cooks know a thousand and one ways to serve vegetables--raw or cooked, in salads, soups or sautes. One of my favorites is stuffed. I love the idea of a savory filling wrapped in a neat, edible package.

In Italy, any vegetable of meaningful size is a candidate for stuffing. Peppers large and small are obvious choices, and then there are eggplants, artichokes, tomatoes, mushrooms and summer and winter squashes--even their flowers.

The choices of filling are just as endless. Anyone can make a good meatball mixture, pack it into a pepper and bake it, but Italian home cooks are much more inventive. In Liguria, mashed potatoes and porcini mushrooms are used for stuffing vegetables. In Naples, eggplants are used to stuff peppers, tomatoes and even other eggplants.

Pasta, rice and grains are popular stuffings, too. Stuffed vegetables are a good way to use leftovers of meat or fish. Just grind them up, season them with herbs or cheese, add an egg or two and then some bread crumbs to bind them and you have a delicious stuffing.

Stuffed vegetables can be served hot or at room temperature, as an appetizer or a main course. I first had zucchini stuffed with tuna at a country inn in Tuscany. They were served at room temperature as a first course alongside a little tomato and sweet red onion salad. I could have eaten that as my entire meal, and now I often do. Use small to medium zucchini for best results. They have more flavor and fewer seeds than large zucchini and are not watery.

A popular summer dish in Rome is a ripe round tomato baked with a rice stuffing. At a Roman wine bar last year, I had a variation on that dish, a tomato stuffed with farro , an ancient grain that is currently much in vogue in Italy. Italian markets and some health food and gourmet shops here sell farro , but you can substitute wheat berries, kamut or bulgur if you prefer.

In Naples, eggplant is stuffed with eggplant. Of course, there are also tomatoes, olives, capers and anchovies to give it some life. If you’re one of those people who hate anchovies, you can leave them out, but in that case increase the amount of capers and olives.

Furthermore, eggplants can be bitter, especially if they are out of season. When I get them fresh picked from the farmers market, I don’t bother to salt them, but otherwise I recommend you do. Salting reduces their astringent juices and makes them taste better.

Bell peppers with their boxy shape and large cavities are obvious choices for stuffing, but I also like to use long, pointed, Italian frying peppers. Usually they are pale green, but sometimes I find bright red ones. Buy the straightest peppers you can find so they will be easier to stuff. A simple bread crumb stuffing is all they need.

With something so simple and perfect, why make it more complicated?

Eggplant Stuffed With Anchovies, Capers And Olives

Active Work Time: 30 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 2 hours

3 eggplants, about 1 pound each, divided

Salt

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 cup chopped Gaeta or Kalamata olives

12 anchovy filets

1/4 cup capers, rinsed and drained

1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano

Pepper

1/3 cup bread crumbs made from Italian or French bread

Trim the stems from 2 of the eggplants, then cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. With a small knife and a spoon, scoop out the eggplant pulp, leaving a shell about 1/2-inch thick. Coarsely chop the pulp and place half of it in a colander. Sprinkle generously with salt. Add the remaining pulp and salt it. Place a plate on top to weight the eggplant and set aside to drain. Sprinkle the insides of the eggplant halves with salt and place them upside down on paper towels. Let drain for 30 minutes. Rinse the eggplant pulp and shells under cool water. Pat dry with paper towels, squeezing the pulp to extract the water.

Peel and chop the remaining eggplant and set aside.

Heat the 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it ripples. Add all the eggplant pulp and cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, olives, anchovies, capers, oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Cook 5 minutes more.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil a baking pan just large enough to hold the eggplant shells.

Fill the shells with the eggplant mixture and place them in the pan. Toss the bread crumbs with the remaining oil and sprinkle it over the shells. Bake until the shells are tender, 45 minutes. Let cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

4 to 8 servings. Each of 8 servings: 205 calories; 699 mg sodium; 5 mg cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 4.36 grams fiber.

Tuna-Stuffed Zucchini

Active Work Time: 30 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

2 slices day-old Italian or French bread, crusts removed

3 tablespoons milk

4 zucchini, about 1 1/4 pounds

1 (6 1/2-ounce) can tuna, packed in olive oil

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Freshly grated nutmeg

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 egg, beaten

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Oil a small baking pan just large enough to hold the zucchini halves in a single layer.

Sprinkle the bread with the milk and soak until softened, 5 minutes.

Trim off the tops and cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. With a teaspoon, scoop out the pulp leaving a 1/4-inch thick shell. Chop the pulp and reserve.

Drain the tuna, reserving the oil. Mash the tuna in a bowl. Squeeze the bread and add it to the tuna along with 1/4 cup chopped zucchini pulp, 1/4 cup cheese, garlic, parsley, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Stir in the egg.

Spoon the mixture into the zucchini shells. Arrange the zucchini in the baking pan. Drizzle with a little of the reserved tuna oil. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Pour 1/2 cup water around the zucchini.

Bake until the zucchini are tender and browned, about 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

4 servings. Each serving: 267 calories; 632 mg sodium; 69 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 23 grams protein; 2.67 grams fiber.

Stuffed Frying Peppers

Active Work Time: 25 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour * Vegetarian

1 1/4 cups dry bread crumbs from Italian or French bread

1/3 cup freshly grated pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

About 1/2 cup olive oil, divided

8 long green frying peppers, such as Hungarian or Anaheim

3 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes or 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

6 basil leaves, torn into bits

Mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, garlic and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the oil or enough to evenly moisten the crumbs.

Cut off the tops of the peppers and scoop out the seeds. Spoon the bread crumb mixture into the peppers, leaving about 1 inch clearance at the top. Do not overstuff the peppers or the filling will spill out as the peppers cook.

In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup of oil over medium heat until the oil is just rippling.

Add the peppers and cook, turning occasionally with tongs, until browned on all sides, about 20 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook, turning the peppers once or twice, until very tender, about 15 minutes. If the sauce is too dry, add a little water. Uncover and cook 5 minutes more or until the sauce is thick. Serve warm or at room temperature.

4 to 8 servings. Each of 8 servings: 254 calories; 483 mg sodium; 3 mg cholesterol; 16 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 2.24 grams fiber.

Plate and napkin from Sur La Table stores.

Tomatoes Stuffed With Farro

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Farro can be found at Italian markets and some gourmet and health food stores. You can also substitute wheat berries or bulgur. In The Times Test Kitchen, we used 1/2 cup bulgur.

1 cup semi-pearled farro

Salt

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 large tomatoes

1/4 cup grated pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano

Pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the farro and salt to taste. Cook until the farro is tender but still chewy, about 30 minutes. Drain the farro and place it in a bowl.

In a small saucepan, cook the onion in the oil over medium heat until golden, about 7 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a small baking pan just large enough to hold the tomatoes.

Cut off a slice 1/2 inch thick from the top of each tomato and reserve. Using a small spoon, scoop out the seeds and juice and place in a sieve set over a bowl. Arrange the tomatoes in the prepared baking dish.

Add the strained tomato juice, cooked onion, cheese and salt and pepper to taste to the farro. Spoon the mixture into the tomatoes. Cover each tomato with its top.

Bake until the tomatoes are tender, 40 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

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4 servings. Each serving: 164 calories; 204 mg sodium; 5 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 1.93 grams fiber.

* Scicolone is the author of “Italian Holiday Cooking” to be published in October by William Morrow.

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Platter in cover photo from Williams-Sonoma stores.

Above, Le Creuset baking dish and towel from Sur La Table stores.