Tasty Tuesdays #5 - Stuffed Eggplant

I have to admit, I did a completely improvised recipe for this week's post. I haven't had a chance to buy groceries in over a week and had to find a purpose for some stray vegetables I've been meaning to use up. Behold! The Stuffed Eggplant recipe was born.

I made this up as I went along, so I don't have a nice glamour shot of the ingredients to show you. I used the following: olive oil, 2 medium eggplant, 1 onion, 1 yellow zucchini, 1 green pepper, oregano, tomato sauce, low fat mozzarella cheese, garlic, salt & pepper to taste.


Start by trimming your eggplant. Wash them, cut off the stems and then hollow out each half into a bowl. I found it helpful to run a paring knife along the edge and then scooped the flesh out with a spoon. You'll want to leave about 1/4" around the edges, otherwise your 'bowl' won't be sturdy enough to hold the cheesy goodness that is to come! Chop the eggplant and do the same with any addition vegetables you have on hand. I added zucchini, onion and green pepper.


Heat up 1-2 tsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add your vegetables and cook them for about 10 minutes until everything is softened.


Add a good tablespoon or so of minced garlic. If you have more foresight than I did, you can do this before you put the vegetables in!


A few tablespoons of dried oregano give it a nice flavour. Add some salt and pepper at this point, too.


When your vegetables have cooked down, add some tomato sauce. I used the good ole "free pour" technique - probably used about 1 cup. Diced or strained tomatoes would also work well.


It's time to stuff your eggplant. Put them in a lightly oiled baking dish.


This is where things almost went off the rails, but I tried to restrain myself with the amount of cheese added on top!


These cook for about 25 minutes in a 325-degree oven.


The finished product! A great, healthy, vegetable side dish.


This was a hearty pairing with some barbecued chicken breast and cucumber slices.

Enjoy!
Rae
xo