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Stuffed Eggplant

 

Stuffed Eggplant

At the farmers market the other day, I picked up some nice long Japanese eggplants. In the past, I’ve used these to make a sweet and sour or miso stir fry. This time I wanted to bring out the eggplant flavor a little more so I experimented by stuffing them with sweet peppers and tomatoes (also purchased at the farmers market!). These stuffed eggplants taste as good as they look, and no one in my family missed the usual cheese or heavy soy sauce from the other dishes!

  • Prep Time: 55 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
  • Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 4 long purple Japanese eggplants
  • 8 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
  • 10 cloves garlic (peeled)
  • 1 large onion (sliced thinly)
  • 2 sweet peppers (sliced thinly)
  • 1 large tomato (diced)
  • 1 cup parsley (chopped)
  • Salt (to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 1 cup tomato sauce

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

  2. Peel eggplants in stripes, salt exteriors generously, and set aside for 45 minutes. Do not chop tops off to help hold shape of the eggplant.  

  3. Pour 4 tablespoons olive oil into a deep saute pan. 

  4. Add onions, whole cloves of garlic, and sweet peppers and saute until onion is transparent, stirring frequently to prevent browning of onions and garlic. 

  5. After the onions are cooked, add finely diced tomatoes, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and sugar to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes. 

  6. Turn the heat off, cover, and let cool.

  7. Wash peeled eggplants and dry them using a paper towel or kitchen towel. 

  8. Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a pan, fry eggplants on each side until golden brown (about 1-2 minutes), then place in baking dish to cool.

  9. Slit opening in the middle of eggplants halfway through. Do not cut all the way through; they should look like canoes.

  10. Divide filling among four eggplants, stuffing well.

  11. Pour tomato sauce into baking pan and cover with aluminum foil, making several slits in foil to let steam escape.

  12. Bake until eggplants are fully cooked. (about 45 minutes).

  13. Serve immediately.

BON APPÉTIT!