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RECIPE: Meditteranean stuffed eggplant 
Reply With Quotex-no-archive: yes
Spelling housekeeping!
Susan wrote:
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> I found this recipe saved long ago from someone's posting online in my
> archives and decided to make it today. The instructions weren't great,
> some of them were non existent, along with amounts, but it turned out
> just amazing, the two TBS of vinegar really turned up the whole
> stuffing. The only problem was that I baked the eggplant boats for 50%
> longer than instructed and they were still underdone. They need to be
> really thin or cooked longer. I used 1.4 lbs of 95% lean beef because I
> didn't want eggplant soaked in grease and I like a lot of cheese. The
> recipe below will be modified to reflect what I did and/or what I plan
> to do in the future. I would not substitute dried herbs in this dish.
> Certainly not dried parsley, which has no place in any food, IMO.
>
> Susan
>
> Two medium sized eggplants
> 1 lb 95% lean ground beef (could use lamb or bison)
> One medium onion, rough chopped
> 6 large garlic cloves or 1 small head garlic
> One sweet red pepper, rough chopped
> One very large ripe tomato, seeds and goo removed, rough chopped
> 7 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
> 2 TBS red wine vinegar
> Fresh oregano, mint and flat leaf parsley
> Hot sauce or red pepper flakes to taste (if using flakes, saute with
> other ingredients, if using sauce, add to taste at the end)
> As much shredded mozzarrella cheese as you like for topping, I used at
> least a cup or more.
>
> 1) Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. With a knife and a spoon, cut
> all around 1/4" in from the peel all around, then scoop out with a large
> spoon. Salt the insides of the halves and turn upside down on paper
> towels to drain. Chop the removed insides of eggplant and lightly salt,
> then put into a colander to drain. After 30 minutes, rinse and
> everything off and dry very well with paper towels. Brush the inside of
> eggplant boats with olive oil, pepper them, and raost at 450-500F for
> 10-15 minutes or until cooked through and softened. Remove from oven.
>
> 2) While the eggplant is roasting, pour a TBS or two olive oil into a
> medium high skillet and saute onion and garlic until translucent, then
> add the reserved chopped eggplant and saute til tender.
>
> 3) Add the ground meat and brown it
>
> 4) Add the red pepper. Add the tomato. Pour in the vinegar and let
> cook until the tomato has cooked down to soft. Add a handful of fresh
> herbs, rough chopped and cook another minute or two.
>
> 5) After the mixture has cooked down, turn off the heat and let it sit
> for a minute or two. Stir in crumbled feta gently, careful not to break
> it all up and blend too much. Add another handful of chopped fresh
> herbs and hot sauce if using. Salt and pepper to taste.
>
> 6) Spoon the mixture into the eggplant boats (the shorter, fatter
> eggplants looked and held up better for me) and mound as much as
> necessary to get it all in. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarrella over the
> top and return to the very hot oven for 10-12 minutes until done. Remove
> and sprinkle top with chopped flat leaf parsley.
>
>
> I think that next time I will just scoop out all the eggplant and make
> the stuffing and toss the shells and bake this in a baking dish instead.
>
> This surprised me with how good it was, it was very, VERY good and
> smelled wonderful, too. I think it would work very well under a
> CarbQuik crust, too.
>
> Susan
