Recipe: Baked Stuffed Eggplant

Baked Stuffed Eggplant
rec.food.cooking/Janet Morrissey/1995

This is from Biba Caggiano's Trattoria Cooking cookbook. It is easy to do and can be doubled and frozen for an additional meal later on.

2 eggplants, the smallest you can get (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut lengthwise
2 small, ripe tomatoes (about 10 to 12 ounces), halved, seeded, and diced
1/4 pound whole milk mozzarella, diced
5 to 6 fresh basil leaves, shredded
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup extract virgin olive oil
Small pinch of dried red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350F.

With a tablespoon, scoop out some of the pulp from the eggplant halves, making sure not to break the skin. Place the eggplant halves on a large platter and sprinkle generously with slat. Let stand about 20 minutes to allow the salt to draw out the eggplant's bitter juices. Pat the eggplant dry with paper towels.

Dice the pulp of the eggplant and put it in a bowl with the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, parsley, garlic, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper flakes. Fill the eggplant's cavities with this mixture.

Oil a baking dish lightly, and put the eggplant halves into the dish. Bake until they are lightly golden, soft to the touch, and easily pierced with the tip of a thin knife, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the eggplants. Serve hot or at room temperature.

One of Biba's notes is that she will dice any leftover eggplant and toss it quickly in a skillet with extra virgin olive oil and freshly diced tomatoes and serve it over penne, shells, or rigatoni.