Has anyone made stuffed eggplant before?

[Dora]

In an effort to bring diversity to our dinner table, I bought an eggplant last night. I've bought them before, but they always get thrown out after 3-4 weeks in the fridge. I am committed to using this eggplant tonight, but I do not want to bread and fry it.

So, I want to try stuffed eggplant for dinner.

What are the basics? I've seen recipes that say I should slice the eggplant in half, others say into slices. Some say to broil first, then scoop the guts, then make stuffing and rebroil till the skin is soft. The options are endless.

What makes good mixins for the eggplant guts for the stuffing? Sauteed onion and celery? Could I use herbed goat cheese as an additive to the stuffing? Or is this too too? Do I need an egg in the stuffin? breadcrumbs as binder?

Who's got some lovely culinary know-it-all-ness that's just dying to be set free on my experimental cooking methods? I can follow a recipe, but I do tend to play fast and loose in the kitchen.

[The empressof all]

1. Never did it but this is what you've inspired me to suggest

I would cut in half and scoop out most of the innards. I'd leave a good sized rim of "meat" along the skin so that it will hold it's shape when you bake it.

I'd then cube what I scooped out-salt it and sit it in a colander. (I know some say this is un-necessary-but I do it anyway). I would probably brown some onion, pepper, celery and ground lamb. (obviously if you are veggie-omit the lamb) I'd take that and mix it with some cubed un-seasoned stuffing mix. I'd add oregano, an egg, garlic, salt, pepper and some pine nuts. I might even put in some feta cheese

I'd stick it back into the eggplant skin and bake it at 325 for about 30 minutes. I think I would cover it with foil for the first 15 minutes or so--then take it off for a little crispness to the top.

[The empressof all]

2. More on eggplant--

I love eggplant and use it quite a bit. Here's a quick ratatouille.

Cube your eggplant-salt and sit in colander in sink for 10 minutes. Then rinse

Slice zucchini, onion, garlic (I use quite a bit)

Add veggies with eggplant to a can of stewed tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook on low until veggies are soft and yummy.



I make this very garlicky and serve it with a good baguette and some roast chicken.

[Dora]

3. I like both suggestions

and if I had a chicken in my freezer I'd be roasting it tonight.

Thanks for the tips!

[n2mark]

4. Eggplant suggestions

I slice the eggplants, place on towel, sprinkle with salt to bring out the moisture, let sit for an hour, then take paper towel and rub off the salt and moisture.

Spray a cookie sheet with Pam, or spread olive oil on the sheet, place the eggplant slices on the cookie sheet and broil until soft. You can shake some parmesan cheese on top after broiling or add whatever seasonings you like. I don't peel my eggplant, just broil and eat! Love it.

[NMDemDist2]

5. that's a great, no hassle idea for eggplant, thanks! n/t

[grasswire]

6. my fam likes...

...fried eggplant alongside fettucine alfredo, plus a salad.

I like the idea of broiling eggplant slices with crumbs and oil quite a bit, although I might get complaints because usually I do the egg dip then crumbs then fry in olive oil routine.

[The empressof all]

7. More easy eggplant stuff....

I sometimes slice the eggplant- brush with olive oil and grill on the George Foreman. It gives pretty grill marks and the eggplant is delish.

[denverbill]

8. We just like it like this.

Cut the eggplant into about 1/2 inch cubes. In a bowl, drizzle the pieces with olive oil, add plenty of minced garlic, some salt and pepper, toss to coat, and roast on a cookie sheet at 400 for about 15 minutes or so stirring every 5 minutes or so to brown evenly.

[Neecy]

9. lots of ways to stuff an eggplant...

I'll usually slice the eggplant in half and bake at 350 until it's tender (remove seeds first). I scoop out the guts, chop coarsely, and add it to a rice mixture.

With the rice you can basically use what you have on hand...I like to brown ground lamb in a little olive oil and garlic, and stir it into white or brown rice. Add lots of fresh chopped tomato, herbes de provence or whatever herbs you fancy, salt/pepper, etc. I'll usually mix a little feta cheese into the mixture, then add the baked eggplant, stuff it back into the eggplant shells, sprinkle some bread crumbs on top then drizzle a little olive oil over the whole mess and throw it back into the oven for about 25-30 minutes. I love eggplant, and this is usually how I fix it.

[Dora]

10. Stuffin' Update: It Worked!

I halved the eggplant, then pulled out most of the flesh and chopped it up, put it in a strainer and salted it and set it in the sink. Then I chopped up a little bit of yellow onion, and set that on the stove to soften and cook up. Then I chopped up one small yellow squash and added it to the onion. Then I squeezed most of the juice out of the chopped/salted eggplant, and added that to the pan, stirred it a bit, then put a lid on it to cook down. Oh, yes, and I had some leftover bits of bacon from corn chowder night, so I threw that in the mix too (probably only two tablespoons of bacon).

I ground up some breadcrumbs and set them aside, then mixed one egg with 2 oz of herbed goat cheese that was in the fridge. By this time the eggplant/squash/onion mix had cooked down nicely, and I had taken it off the heat. I added the egg/cheese to the veggies in the pan, threw in a handful or two of breadcrumbs until it seemed to have a good consistency for stuffing into the shells, then I dumped it into the shells and stuck them in the oven at 400. I also sprinkled the tops with some of the leftover breadcrumbs. I let them cook for 45 minutes, but they possibly could have come out earlier.

Oh, they were purty. The goat cheese added a nice zip, the bacon was a nice bass note in the mix, and we were both very happy with our dinner.

Thank you, everyone, for all your tips and suggestions!

[NMDemDist2]

11. sounds YUMMY

goat cheese huh? think gouda would work as well?

[Dora]

12. I don't know...

The nice thing about the goat cheese is that it was sharp and tangy and the herbs also added a little extra flava and the soft crumbly texture made it very easy to mix with the stuffing (it just melted and mixed throughout).

IIRC, gouda is a harder and milder cheese... it would probably have to be grated then mixed with the stuffin... I don't know how much the flavor would stand up, but it would probably do something really interesting to the texture.