Stuffed eggplant: good mood dishes. Video
Stuffed eggplant dishes are very popular in many countries around the world. You can stuff vegetables the way it is in Greece or Sicily, Italy or Lebanon. Whichever recipe you choose, the food will turn out to be aromatic, spicy and satisfying.
Cooking stuffed eggplant: video recipe
To prepare eggplants the way they do in Sicily, take: – 6 small eggplants with a total weight of 1 kg; – ½ cup of olive oil; – 1 small onion head; – 500 g ground beef; – ½ glass of dry white wine; – 1 red bell pepper; – 2 teaspoons of finely ground salt; – 2 cups of lightly stale white bread, diced – 1 glass of milk; – 1 glass of grated Parmesan; – ½ cup chopped parsley; – 1 hard-boiled chicken egg; – 2 tomatoes.
Choose bouncy, smooth eggplants that are heavier in weight than in appearance.
Peel the onion and cut into small cubes. Cut off the stalk of the pepper, remove the seeds and jumpers, chop the pulp. Peel the egg and also cut into small cubes. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, use a spoon or a vegetable knife to remove the pulp, leaving about 1–2 centimeters around the edges, cut the pulp in the same way as the onion and the egg. Cut the tomatoes in half and remove the seeds and juice, cut the pulp into slices.
Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large deep frying pan, add onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent, add minced meat and pour in wine. Cook by breaking up large pieces of minced meat with the back of a wooden spoon and stirring for about 5-7 minutes. Add bell peppers and chopped eggplant, season with 1 teaspoon salt, stir and simmer, covered, about 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Place in a bowl to chill. Pour milk over the bread cubes and wait for it to soften. Squeeze out excess liquid and add bread to minced meat and vegetables. Put Parmesan, parsley, egg and tomatoes in the same place.
Place the eggplant boats in a greased baking dish with olive oil. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Salt. Fill the eggplant halves with the filling, cover the dish with foil and bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 40–45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown.
Lebanese eggplant is an eggplant cooked in Lebanese style. You will need: – 6 small round eggplants; – ½ cup long grain rice; – ¼ cup of olive oil; – 3 tablespoons of pine nuts; – 1 onion head, cut into small cubes; – 2 minced garlic cloves; – 2 cups of chicken broth; – 400 g of tomatoes canned in their own juice; – 750 g minced lamb; – 1 teaspoon of ground allspice; – ½ lemon; – 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley; – salt and black pepper.
You can replace minced lamb with beef or chicken, but not pork
Cut off the top of each eggplant and remove the pulp, leaving a little to form stable walls. Rinse the rice under running water and dry a little. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and fry the pine nuts until golden brown, put them in a bowl with a slotted spoon. Fry the onion and garlic in the same skillet. Once they are translucent, place half in the bowl with the nuts. Add the broth, tomatoes, ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon ground pepper to the remaining vegetables in the pan, and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, while preparing the filling.
Grind the eggplant pulp and add to a bowl to the nut-vegetable mixture, add rice, minced meat, allspice, 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper. Knead the filling well and stuff the eggplant with it, being careful not to do it too tightly, as the rice will expand during cooking. Place the eggplants in the tomato sauce and simmer, turning from time to time, for 50 minutes. Serve with freshly squeezed lemon juice and parsley.
Eggplant with tomato salsa
Vegetarians may find an interesting recipe for eggplant stuffed with aromatic tomato salsa. You will need: – 1 large eggplant; – 2 medium tomatoes; – 1 clove of garlic; – 2-3 sprigs of thyme; – 2 and ½ tablespoons of olive oil; – juice from ½ lemon; – salt, black pepper.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Wash the eggplant, rinse and dry. Place in a baking tray and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the eggplant and carefully cut it in half. Reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees, brush the baked eggplant halves with olive oil and bake, cut up until crisp. Refrigerate and remove the pulp, leaving enough to form tight boats.
Cut the tomatoes into quarters, remove the seeds and chop the pulp into small cubes. Cut the eggplant pulp as well and mix with tomatoes, chopped garlic and thyme leaves, season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, stir well. Season the “boats” from the inside with salt, sprinkle with juice and fill with the filling. Eggplant stuffed in this way is a cold appetizer.