Aubergines à la Bonifacienne

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Aubergines à la bonifacienne is the signature vegetable dish of Bonifacio — the spectacular cliff-top citadel at Corsica's southern tip, whose cuisine reflects its proximity to Sardinia (only 12km across the Straits of Bonifacio) and its Genoese heritage more strongly than any other Corsican city. The preparation: halve 4 large aubergines lengthwise, score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern, salt generously, and leave for 30 minutes to draw out bitterness and moisture. Rinse, pat dry, and fry cut-side down in generous olive oil until deeply golden and soft (8-10 minutes). Prepare a stuffing: sauté diced onion and garlic in olive oil, add 200g chopped fresh tomatoes, the scooped-out aubergine flesh (chopped), 100g stale bread soaked in milk and squeezed, 2 beaten eggs, 100g grated brocciu passu or aged tomme corse, chopped parsley, and salt and pepper. Fill the aubergine shells with this mixture, arrange in an oiled gratin dish, scatter with more grated cheese and breadcrumbs, drizzle with olive oil, and bake at 190°C for 30 minutes until the filling is set and the top is golden. The dish is served warm or at room temperature — it improves after resting. The Bonifacian character comes from the generous use of brocciu in the filling and from the Genoese technique of combining fried aubergine with bread-and-cheese stuffing — a technique found throughout Liguria and Genoa's former colonial territories. Aubergines à la bonifacienne is the Corsican representative in the great Mediterranean family of stuffed aubergine dishes — from Turkey's imam bayildi to Sicily's parmigiana to Provence's petits farcis.

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