Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Good stuff

Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant

I am talking about the Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant we ate last week. It was our weekly vegetarian night, and I needed a substantial all- in-one vegetarian dish.

Flipping through my pile of "to try list", the stuffed eggplant recipe jumped to my attention and begged to be made. Since OCT and I love eggplant, I decided to grant eggplant its wish.

Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant


I must say that making the stuffed eggplant is quite a joy, if you have a lot of time on hand. For there are quite a number of steps to follow. Not to mention the hollowing, baking, cubing and stirfrying it required. Having said that the end result totally justified the effort. All the veggie goodness stuffed to the brim in the eggplant shell topped with feta and panko have us groaned in pleasure.

This is definitely a dish we will serve for our vegetarian guests in the near future.

Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant


Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant
Adapted from Coookinglight

3 medium eggplants
Cooking spray
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
6 plum tomatoes, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium summer squash, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1 1/4 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)


Preheat oven to 350°.
Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise. Scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell, and reserve pulp. Place eggplant halves, skin sides down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

Chop the reserved eggplant pulp into 1/2-inch pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add reserved eggplant to pan, and sauté 8 minutes or until eggplant begins to brown. Place eggplant in a bowl. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in red and green bell peppers and the next 7 ingredients (through squash); sauté 6 minutes. Return eggplant to pan. Stir in 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and black pepper; sauté for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in feta cheese and 1/4 cup panko. Cool slightly. Spoon about 1 cup eggplant mixture into each eggplant shell.

Combine remaining 1 cup panko, remaining 1 teaspoon oil, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle panko mixture evenly over stuffed eggplants. Lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated and tops begin to brown. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed eggplant half)

note: I halved the recipe and used one huge (about 1 pound) eggplant. It served us well for 3 meals with other side dishes.

9 comments:

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Mandy, this dish really makes me drool! I wonder when I'll ever come up with something so delicious?!!

WokandSpoon said...

That looks like another healthy meal. I love stuffed veggies. Though I have to say, I've never heard of panko. Something else to try ;-)

Anonymous said...

超美麗!!
郝利害啊

Patricia Scarpin said...

Looks really good, Mandy!
I love it for being light, too. :)

Little Corner of Mine said...

This dish looks absolutely divine!

Mandy said...

happy home baker,
your food are delicious! I wish I could trade some of your horlick doggie cookies with this Mediterranean style "yong tou foo"!

wokandspoon,
panko is japanese bread crumbs. It gives the dish a crunchy edge.

little teddy bear,
thanks for visiting my blog!

Patricia,
yeah, and it's very filling too!

little corner of mine,
thanks! this is the Mediterranean style yong tou foo. :)

Lee Ping said...

Eggplants and Feta Cheese yum. The additional veges add tons of fiber and color.

I agree with Little Bear's comment, extremely beautiful and brilliant.

Ani L. Arambula said...

ohmgosh! what a great recipe! i love eggplant and this will join my own version of my to try list!

Anonymous said...

Looks very delicious! I am cooking it tomorrow night for my girfriend! Thanks!

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