Stuffed Eggplant
I like to stuff things! Eggplant is no exception. These babies are delicious. Its kind of like eggplant Parmesan in a cute little boat. Here’s the thing about eggplant. I’ve heard you are supposed to salt your eggplant before cooking.This is when preparing your eggplant you first sprinkle it with salt and let it drain out some of the moisture. Then you rinse and cook it. I grew up eating lots of veggies, including eggplant. I never saw my Mom salt an eggplant. Again, lots of cooking shows tell you to do this. I’m not sure why, The theory I’ve run into is that it draws out the bitterness in the eggplant. I don’t think I have ever eaten a bitter eggplant, so I’m not sure why this is done. To be honest it just makes the recipe prep take longer, and I’m not having that! It’s just an extra step that I find to be unnecessary! Just cook up that eggplant as usual and it will be fine- I promise!
So back to the recipe. If you can’t find these mid-size eggplant just use the smallest ones you can find. For these, we just scoop out the insides and cook ’em up all gooey and yummy. While you are cooking up the filling we will pre-bake the eggplant boats, so they will be tender. Then you put the filling back into our eggplant boats and bake them. These are a great side dish! If you enjoy eggplant Parmesan, you will enjoy these guys!
Stuffed Eggplant
Ingredients
- 2-3 small eggplant
- 1 tablespoon olive oil more for drizzling and to oil casserole dish
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tsp dried organo
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon Italian style breadcrumbs
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup tomato puree
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash the eggplant. Cut eggplant in half.
- Run your knife along the rim off the eggplant half. Be careful not to pierce the skin. Using a spoon (sometime your hand works better) scoop out the inside of the eggplant. Do this to all the eggplants. Cube the eggplant insides.
- Place the eggplant boats in an oiled casserole dish. Sean them with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Cook them in your pre-heated iven for 15- 20 minutes.
- While the eggplant boats are pre-baking, heat olive oil and garlic in a medium fry pan. Saute the garlic for a few minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the eggplant cubes and cook until softened. Add the tomato puree, oregano,and salt & pepper. Let it all cook together for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
- Remove your eggplant boats from the oven- careful it will be hot! Stuff the eggplant boats with with your cheesy mixture and sprinkle with some breadcrumbs.
- Put them back in the oven for another 20 to 30 minutes until the breadcrumds are browned and eggplant is tender.
