Hi Housewives,

I know, I know it’s been awhile.  I am sorry for not putting up some new recipes lately but the good news is I am back and have plenty of new, delicious recipes to share with you.  Blogging can sometimes be like writing meaning that writers often get writers block and so I suppose you could say I had bloggers block! LOL  Anyway, enough of that, today I am bringing to you a recipe that is so worth the wait!  I tried this last week and it was a hit.

I love eggplant and recently my aunt was talking about how her grandmother (my great-grandmother) used to make stuffed baby eggplant.  It got me thinking and so I attempted it this week.  I did not want to make them the same way I make my stuffed peppers and so I had to switch up some ingredients in order to give them their own distinct flavor.  I use brown rice, Italian seasoning, olives and lots of other things in my stuffed peppers so for this I stood clear of those ingredients.  This recipe is a little time consuming so I’d try it when you have time to spare.

• 6 small baby eggplants
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• few shakes of dried parsley
• a package of ground chop meat (I used beef but you can you turkey or pork)
• 2 cups of seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• pecorino romano grated cheese (about a cup and some more for sprinkling)
• 1/4 cup of fresh basil
• 3/4 cup of water
• salt and pepper
• 2-3 cups of tomato sauce (your own marinara or jarred)  I made my own marinara.

First, cut your eggplants in half and remove the pulp.  Leave some of the pulp along the skin and be careful not to cut the skin on the sides or the bottom.  Set the eggplant skins aside.  Chop the eggplant pulp.

In a skillet, heat olive oil and add the eggplant pulp to it stirring frequently.  Add the parsley and continue to cook it through until the eggplant is tender.

In a large bowl, add the chop meat, egg, breadcrumbs, basil, garlic, grated cheese, water and the cooked eggplant.  Add the salt and pepper as well.  Mix all together with your hands.

Use this mixture to stuff the eggplant skins.  Spoon tomato sauce on bottom of a baking pan and place each stuffed eggplant in the pan.  Top the stuffed eggplants with a little more tomato sauce.  Sprinkle each with the grated cheese and bake covered loosely for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.  Take off the foil and cook for another 15-20 minutes uncovered.  This can be served hot or at room temperature.  I even enjoyed it cold the next day for lunch.

When cooked top each eggplant with a basil leaf for a very nice presentation!  Enjoy!

RHC