Rave Stuffed Eggplant Recipes

STUFFED EGGPLANT WITH VEAL AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Halve eggplants lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh leaving the shells 1/8-inch thick. Salt the shells and invert to drain over paper towels for 30 minutes. Salt the flesh and drain it in a strainer.
• Defrost the spinach in a microwave, squeeze out all of the water and separate it with fingertips. Put the spinach in a mixing bowl.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat with extra-virgin olive oil, a turn of the pan. Add the meat, sage and salt and pepper, to taste. Lightly brown the meat, then stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, Add the meat mixture to the mixing bowl.
• Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a sauce pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, cook for 1 minute, then whisk in milk and bring the mixture to a bubble. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg, to taste. Cool for a few minutes, then add it to the meat and spinach. Pat the salted flesh of the eggplant dry and finely chop, then stir it into meat mixture along with an egg and about 1/2 cup cheese.
• Tear the bread, add it to a food processor and pulse-grind into fresh crumbs. Finely chop the parsley leaves and stir it into the bread crumbs.
• Pat the eggplant shells dry and drizzle a baking dish with extra-virgin olive oil. Arrange the eggplant shells in the dish and mound the filling into them. Top with bread crumbs and a little more cheese, dot with dabs of butter and bake until lightly golden, about 30 minutes. Cool completely, cover and refrigerate for a make-ahead meal. To reheat, put the eggplant in a 350 degree F oven, loosely covered, for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake until deeply golden in color, about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve a whole eggplant per person.

RAVE STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Scoop flesh out of eggplants and chop the flesh, reserving the skins.
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion and garlic until onion is softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add chopped eggplant; cook and stir until eggplant is softened, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook until slightly wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir crushed croutons into eggplant mixture until evenly combined. Add remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, Parmesan-Romano cheese, salt, and black pepper; mix well.
• Place eggplant skins in a shallow baking dish and fill each with eggplant mixture. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over each stuffed eggplant. Pour enough hot water into baking dish to reach 1/8-inch up sides of eggplant.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and stuffing is cooked through, about 30 minutes.

QUICK FAKE-OUT "STUFFED" EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 475 degrees F.
• Halve 4 eggplants lengthwise. Pour about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Season the cut eggplant with salt and pepper, to taste, and arrange, cut side down, in the oil. Put in the oven and roast until tender, about 20 minutes.
• Peel the remaining eggplant and dice into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil. Stir in the beef or lamb, the tomato paste, onions, garlic, diced eggplant and raisins. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the wine or stock, and cook until the eggplant and onions are soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the pine nuts and basil.
• While the meat cooks, melt the butter in small skillet over medium heat, add the bread crumbs and toast until golden. Transfer to a bowl and cool.
• Stir the parsley and cheese into the bread crumbs and add half of this mixture to the meat.
• Remove the eggplant from the oven, flip it over and transfer to a serving platter. Top each halved eggplant with a mound of stuffing and sprinkle the remaining cheesy bread crumbs over the top before serving.

BAKED STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Remove stems and cut the eggplants in quarters lengthwise. Soak them in lightly salted water for 15 minutes. Drain and dry.
• Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet and brown the cut sides of the eggplant pieces. Use more butter, as needed. Place the eggplant pieces, skin side down, in a suitable baking dish and make a deep slit down the center of each piece to form a pocket for stuffing.
• Add 4 tablespoons butter to the skillet and brown the lamb in it, stirring constantly. Add the onions, green pepper, paprika, salt, black pepper, cinnamon and tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Divide the lamb mixture into eight portions and stuff it into the pockets of the eggplant pieces. Cut the tomatoes in half and drape the pieces over the stuffing in the eggplant pieces. Pour the water carefully around the eggplant pieces, cover and bake 45 minutes. Uncover and place under the broiler 5 minutes, or until nicely browned but not blackened. Serve with pilaf.

VEGGIE-STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Cut eggplant in half lengthwise; remove pulp, leaving a 1/4-in.-thick shell. Cube pulp; set shells and pulp aside., In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, saute onion and garlic until onion is tender. Add the mushrooms, zucchini, red pepper and eggplant pulp; saute for 4-6 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in the tomatoes, wheat germ, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper and pepper flakes; cook for 1 minute. , Divide mixture evenly between the eggplant shells; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until shells are tender.

MAMA CHIARELLO'S STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut the eggplant in half and scoop out the center, leaving enough meat inside the skin so that it holds its shape when baked. Chop eggplant that has been scooped out of the inside; place in saucepan, cover with water and boil until very soft, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Salt and pepper the beef. Add the seasoned ground beef to the pan, and saute until all of its liquid is evaporated and the beef begins to brown slightly. Let cool briefly, and chop the cooked beef so that there are no large chunks of meat. In another medium saute pan over medium heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and saute the onion, pepper and garlic together in the oil.
• In a bowl, mix together the cooked eggplant, vegetables, beef, herbs, 1 cup of the cheese, 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs and the egg. Fill the scooped-out eggplant halves with this mixture, dividing it evenly between the two halves.
• Top with chopped tomatoes, the remaining 1/4 cup cheese, remaining 1/4 cup bread crumbs, and season with salt and pepper. Place on an oiled oven tray or baking dish, and bake for 50 minutes. Let cool briefly; slice widthwise and serve.

LEBANESE STYLE STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Hollow out each eggplant with a melon-ball cutter, working from bottom end and leaving about 1/3 inch eggplant flesh along interior walls.
• Rinse rice in a sieve under cold water until water runs clear. Drain well.
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Fry pine nuts, stirring frequently, until golden, about 3 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Sauté onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer 1/2 cup onion mixture to bowl with pine nuts. Add stock, tomatoes, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to skillet and simmer, uncovered, while stuffing eggplant.
• Add rice, meat, allspice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to bowl with onion mixture and mix well with your hands.
• Stuff eggplant with meat mixture, being careful not to pack tightly (rice will expand during cooking). Transfer stuffed eggplants to skillet with tomato sauce and simmer, covered, carefully turning once, until rice is cooked through, 50 minutes to 1 hour (cut 1 in half to test).
• If sauce is watery, transfer eggplant to a plate and boil sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, 3 to 5 minutes, then adjust seasoning if necessary. Return stuffed eggplant to sauce. Squeeze lemon over dish and sprinkle with parsley before serving.

GREEK-STYLE STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Halve 2 of the eggplants lengthwise, score their pulp deeply with a sharp knife, being careful not to pierce the skins, and with a grapefruit knife scoop out the pulp, reserving it and leaving 1/2-inch-thick shells. Sprinkle the shells with salt and invert them on paper towels to drain for 30 minutes. Cut the reserved pulp and the remaining whole eggplant into 1/2-inch pieces, in a colander toss the pieces with the salt, and let them drain for 30 minutes.
• Pat the shells dry with paper towels, brush them with 1 tablespoon of the oil, and broil them on the rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 4 inches from the heat for 5 minutes, or until they are tender. In a skillet heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking and in it sauté the eggplant pieces, patted dry, stirring, until they are golden. Stir in the onion and the garlic and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring, until the onion is softened. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the parsley, the mint, the tomatoes, the Feta, and salt and pepper to taste, and divide the filling among the shells, mounding it. Broil the stuffed eggplants in a large flameproof baking dish for 5 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and golden.