Stuffed Eggplants

I had originally slated a vegetarian moussaka recipe in my meal plan for Sunday night, but then after reading it again I decided it didn't sound very good. I had already bought the eggplants for it, so I needed to find something different so they didn't go to waste. I was looking at my cookbook shelves and saw one of my great aunt's cookbooks called Healthy Heart, so I thought I'd give that a try. I had all the ingredients except mushrooms, but since I needed to go grocery shopping anyway that wasn't a big deal.

Stuffed Eggplants

One 1-pound eggplant
Kosher salt for sprinkling
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
i garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 plum tomatoes, diced
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 to 3/4 tsp dried
1/8 tsp kosher salt, optional
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup multigrain bread crumbs
1/2 cup egg substitute

Trim off the stem and cut the eggplant in half lengthwise. Make slits in the flesh and salt the halves. Place in a colander and allow to drain for 30 minutes. Rinse, then wipe off all salt and moisture. Leaving a 3/8-inch shell, remove the flesh with a small paring knife or grapefruit spoon and dice.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the onion and saute for 3 minutes. add the diced eggplant, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are cooked through, about 15 minutes. When the vegetables are soft, stir in the bread crumbs and egg substitute until well incorporated and the eggs are cooked.

Mound the stuffing in the 2 eggplant halves. Place in a baking dish and add just enough water to cover the bottom of the dish without touching the stuffing, about a quarter way up the sides of the eggplant. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the foil from the baking dish and cool for 5 minutes. Slice in half with a sharp knife and serve immediately.

*****

I had two smaller eggplants, so I went with those instead of one big one. And I just realized when typing this out that the mushrooms were to be chopped; mine were sliced. Oops. I also didn't feel like making breadcrumbs, so I just used some panko I had in my pantry.

These were pretty tasty, although I think I'd change a couple things. I thought some pine nuts mixed in would have given it a little bit of needed texture and crunch, and some parmesan sprinkled over the top would have been good, too. We all really liked them, even the boy at all of his filling! These were really easy to put together and a good dish to add to my eggplant arsenal. ;)