The Amalfi Coast is a much-loved location, with landscapes so beautiful that they have deserved the attention of UNESCO, which has declared it its heritage. The Coast is famous both for the beauty of its villages and its panoramas, and for its lemons, known and exported all over the world.
However, not everyone knows that the Amalfi Coast is also famous for another typical dish, namely chocolate aubergines. In this article we talk to you about the famous dessert, giving you the typical Maiori recipe and telling you something more about the history of the origins of this very particular recipe.
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History of the recipe
The aubergine, as we know, is a vegetable that we usually enjoy in savory versions, such as parmigiana, aubergines in oil or cooked on the grill: for this reason, discovering the recipe which sees it combined with chocolate and sugar may come to many turn up one’s nose.
Not everyone has had the courage to try this combination, however those who have had the pleasure can join the chorus of those who have greatly appreciated it. This dessert is so popular that it deserves a place of honor on the tables and at festivals of the Amalfi Coast: in particular in Maiori during the feast of the Assumption this dish is consumed in industrial quantities. But what are the origins of the recipe?
These have their roots in ancient times, it seems that the Saracen settlements that invaded the south of Italy between the 8th and 9th centuries were already aware of the sweet version of aubergines, however the massive diffusion of the dessert can be traced back to the work of the nuns of Santa Maria della Misericordia, who also created other typical foods, such as struffoli and roccocò. The chocolate aubergines were also very popular at the court of the tsars, after the niece of Nicholas II, who was traveling in Italy, decided to stay for some time in Campania.
Here, in particular at the Grand Hotel Cocumella in Sant’Agnello, the noble woman gave birth assisted by a midwife. Following the royal birth, the Augustinian nuns brought the new mother a gift of a basket full of typical products, including chocolate aubergines: this dessert drove the woman crazy. The delicious recipe was then donated to local pastry chefs, until it became part of the culinary tradition of both the Amalfi and Sorrento coasts.
Another version of the story, however, would state that the creation of sweet aubergines was the work of the monks of an ancient convent in Tramonti, where the religious used to make fried aubergines and then seasoned with a sweet and liqueur-like mixture.
Only after the spread of the recipe would the monks’ liqueur sauce be replaced by chocolate. Below you will find the steps to prepare this delicious dessert, according to two variations. The first is the typical Maiori recipe, the second involves the addition of some other ingredients, such as candied fruit, and involves baking.
Today the dessert has become very famous thanks to the work of pastry chefs such as Sal De Riso who have proposed it on the most important national stages, enhancing its taste and quality.
Recipe for aubergines with chocolate
You will have understood by now that “mulignana c’a’ ciucculata” is not a savory preparation, although aubergines are often associated with savory dishes. It is in fact an excellent dessert and if you want to try your hand at preparing the typical recipe, here are the ingredients.
Ingredients
🔹 1 kg of aubergines
🔹 1/2 kg of dark chocolate
🔹 1 pack of cocoa powder
🔹 6 eggs
🔹 200 grams of almonds
🔹 1 pack of amaretti oil for frying
🔹 1/4 of milk
Method
First of all, the aubergines must be peeled and cut (not into slices, but along the length) and then covered with coarse salt for an hour, so as to eliminate their bitterness. Then rinse the slices and fry them in boiling oil. The fried slices should be drained and dipped in beaten egg, floured and fried a second time.
Now they should be left to drain and rest. In the meantime, you need to prepare the chocolate-based cream, here’s how: the dark chocolate should be melted in the milk, together with the bitter cocoa. If necessary, add milk: however, the cream must not be too liquid.
Once you have reached the right density you can blend the almonds, amaretti biscuits and a piece of chocolate. At this point the aubergines should be arranged in layers (each layer should be covered with the cream).
Furthermore, on each layer you must pour a handful of the previously blended grains composed of almonds, amaretti biscuits and dark chocolate. The preparation should be left to rest for a few hours in the refrigerator and then served. This is the typical Maiori recipe, below we see a variant.
Baked aubergines with chocolate
Here are the ingredients of the baked version with candied fruit, a variant of the traditional recipe from the Amalfi Coast:
🔹 Eggplants 1.5 kg
🔹 Dark chocolate 200 gr
🔹 Bitter cocoa powder 100 gr
🔹 Sugar 500 gr
🔹 Flour 50 gr
🔹 Granulated almonds 100 gr
🔹 Pine nuts 100 gr
🔹 Candied orange or citron 100 gr
🔹 Water 550 ml
🔹 Peanut seed oil to taste
Method
The aubergines should be peeled and cut into slices about ½ cm thick. Then sprinkle the slices with coarse salt and leave them to rest so as to lose their bitterness, for at least an hour and a half. Meanwhile, pour 500 g of sugar and 250 ml of water into a saucepan: bring to the boil, continuing to stir until the sugar has dissolved completely. Add the chopped chocolate and mix until it has dissolved with the water and sugar syrup.
Add the sifted bitter cocoa into a separate bowl and add 300 ml of cold water, mix and add the sifted flour again, mixing until you obtain a dense, lump-free cream.
At this point, add the cocoa and flour mixture to the syrup, let it cook until everything is thick. Now rinse the aubergines, dry them and fry them in plenty of oil until golden brown, then place them on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
On the bottom of a baking dish, pour a little of your chocolate cream and arrange the fried aubergine slices next to each other, forming a layer that will be covered with chocolate cream and sprinkled with pine nuts, almonds and candied citron (or orange) , then create other layers until you run out of ingredients. The last layer must be of cream, grains and candied fruit. This preparation should be put in the oven for 15 minutes at 100 degrees, then served.
These were two of the variations that can be cooked and savored. If you want to check how good you were at preparing this dessert, we invite you to visit the Amalfi Coast and compare the local preparations with yours!
