Stuffed Eggplant
Tempt a vegetarian with this one!
Everything You Will Need:
- 1 eggplant (1 to 11/4 pounds)
- Salt
- 1 cup of onion (chopped)
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of crushed or chopped garlic
- 1/2 pound of fresh Italian sausage (removed from the casings)
- 1/2 pound of lean ground beef
- 2 cups of fresh, ripe tomatoes (peeled, seeded & chopped)
- 2 tablespoons of fresh basil (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley (chopped)
- 1/4 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese (grated)
Directions
- Wash the eggplant, and cut it in half lengthwise.
- With a spoon, carve out part of the interior of each half while removing seeds, leaving a neat cavity for the filling.
- Sprinkle the insides of the eggplant halves with salt, turn them upside down, and let them stand for about one hour on a rack (to allow for breathing).
- In a medium-sized frying pan cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium-high heat for about three minutes.
- Add the sausage and ground beef.
- Cook for about four to five minutes more, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to mix the meat.
- Mix in the tomatoes, basil and parsley.
- Cook for two or three more minutes.
- Turn off the heat, and when cool enough to handle, thoroughly mix in the breadcrumbs and salt and pepper to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Fill the eggplant halves with the filling, and put them in a shallow glass baking dish. (It may be necessary to touch the sides of the halves together to keep them propped up and level).
- Add about one-half inch of water into baking dish.
- Bake the halves for forty-five minutes at 350 degrees.
- Carefully pull out the oven rack and sprinkle on the Mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for about another ten minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
- Remove the eggplant halves from the pan, and serve hot.
- (As an alternative, zucchini (small Italian squashes) may be used. They will require the same treatment and cooking time, however the mixture listed here will fill about eight zucchini).
