Stuffed Eggplant #weirdvegwednesday

So we are pretty adventurous eaters in general.  But as we were walking around the produce section earlier this week we were looking at some vegetables that neither one of us have tried.  So in the same spirit of Throwback Thursday or Flex Friday we decided why can’t there be a Weird Veg Wednesday.  So we are going to try to use a vegetable that we have never eaten before or at least prepare a vegetable in a way that is a little outside the norm.  You can follow our posts either on here or on Instagram and Facebook using the #weirdvegwednesday.  

For week 1 we grabbed eggplant.  I’ve never cooked eggplant so I had to do a little research on preparations.  You have your classic Eggplant Parmesan then you have a lot of North African and Middle Eastern preparations.  I haven’t dabbled much in the Middle Eastern stuff so I figured I would play it safe and stay Italian, and settled on a stuffed eggplant.  You could use the marinara sauce recipe for any italian dish from spaghetti to lasagna it is my stock marinara sauce then I just added a little extra stuff for the stuffing.  If you follow the ingredient list for the marinara sauce you will have some leftover, which is a good thing in my book. Try it out, hope you enjoy it!

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Ingredients

Marinara Sauce

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced – we like garlic feel free to adjust to your taste
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 16 oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp dried marjoram 
• 2 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

​Stuffing

• 1 Eggplant (2 Servings)
• 1/4 shredded Parmesan
  
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
  
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
  
• 1 Egg
  

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Topping

• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Over medium/high heat a medium saucepan and oil, then sautee onions for 6 minutes, add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
2. Add ground beef and brown.  Drain grease when cooked through.
3. Add rest of the ingredients for the sauce.  Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. While sauce is simmering, cut your eggplant in half the long way.  I used a pairing knife and spoon to cut/scoop out the middle portion of the eggplant.  Make sure to leave at 1/2″ of eggplant around the sides so that it holds it shape while baking.  
5. In an additional pan heat up a splash of olive oil and cook the guts of the eggplant for 5 minutes until tender.  Make sure if you took them out in large pieces to cut up into bite size pieces before cooking.
6. Remove roughly two cups of the sauce from the simmering pan and place in a shallow bowl or dish, add the eggplant and put in the fridge or freezer until slightly cooled.  You don’t want to cook your egg when you add it to the mixture.  
7. Once that mixture is cooled enough, add your two cheeses, bread crumbs and egg and mix together.  
8. Scoop that mixture evenly into the hollowed out eggplant and place in a baking dish.  Try to get the eggplant level in the baking dish so that the contents don’t run out.  I had to use a little piece of aluminum foil to prop the smaller end.  
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and add toppings before serving.  ENJOY!