That one little eggplant just keeps on giving. I pulled six more off the plant when we got back from California and there’s probably another six that are ready, right now. Who knew one plant was going to be so prolific.
It’s good that we like eggplant – and it’s even better than Nonna has decided she likes it, again. She went through a period of a couple of years where she wouldn’t touch it. Now she’s asking Victor to make Eggplant Lasagne!
Go figure.
We have enough eggplant canned downstairs to last us through winter and I really am looking forward to a nice snowy day, baking some fresh bread, and having Victor make some homemade pasta.
Have I ever mentioned that we tend to eat well around here?
But future meals aside, we had eggplants here and now that needed cooking! And that’s where Victor came through with Stuffed Eggplants. He had been thinking about this most of the week so I was pretty stoked to come home and see them ready to go into the oven. It’s so nice being married to a man who can cook!
As with much of what we cook, there really wasn’t a recipe, per se. It was more just following instinct and creating.
Stuffed Eggplants
- Eggplants
- Ground Beef
- Carnaroli Rice (Italian short-grained risotto-style rice)
- Carrots, diced
- Celery, diced
- Garlic
- Pasta Sauce (Victor’s homemade)
- Bread Crumbs
- Pimentos
- Olives
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Shredded Cheese for topping
Cut eggplants in half and scoop out flesh. Finely chop. Saute the chopped eggplant with garlic, carrots, and celery until vegetables are soft. Add pasta sauce and rice and simmer until rice is tender.
Cook ground beef. Add to eggplant mixture along with the pimento, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir in some bread crumbs.
Stuff eggplants with filling and top with a few more bread crumbs and some shredded cheese.
Cover and bake in a 350°F oven about 45 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking another 15 or so minutes..
This really was outstanding. Easy to pull together and really versatile. If we made it, again, it would be similar, but different. Might or might not have pimentos, type of olives could change, fresh tomatoes might stand in for the sun-dried…
You get the idea. The basic concept is there – the minute details change according to what’s in the larder. And since we keep a pretty well-stocked larder, anything is possible!
We seldom let the lack of a specific item keep us from making something. A little fun and creativity is a good thing.