While this Italian stuffed eggplant may be “for two”, the recipe is easily multiplied to feed large families. Don’t be deterred by that phrasing! And with that out of the way, let’s get down to business … delicious eggplant business.
The eggplant I used in this recipe were grown in my dad’s garden, but eggplant is easily found in your local grocery store. The smaller to medium sized ones are perfect for this recipe, because then each eggplant half is a serving – instead of trying to split each half into multiple servings (although you could, of course, do so).
Hollowing Out the Eggplant:
Have you ever tried to hollow out an eggplant half? Most haven’t … and there’s probably a reason for that. It’s aggravating. With that being said, my mother-in-law had a great suggestion that I’m about to share with you:
After you cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, carefully cut the inside portion into a grid – meaning, cut the inside lengthwise several times into thin, long rectangles, then cut across the short way so that you have squares, like a grid.
Turn the eggplant skin inside out, so the fleshy inside is outside and the skin is inside. Carefully run the knife between the skin and eggplant flesh, separating the two.
And there you have it. A less aggravating method of hollowing out an eggplant, thanks to my mother-in-law.
Italian Stuffed Eggplant Notes:
Don’t you just love hearing that a recipe has no special ingredients?
This recipe is entirely comprised of ingredients you can get a your grocery store.
Also, if you put this recipe into a nutrition calculator, the carbohydrates look ridiculously high, especially for a Trim Healthy Mama S meal. It’s at that point where I remind you that carbs from non-starchy veggies don’t count, and that eggplant is a non-starchy vegetable (and a Trim Healthy Mama Fuel Pull).
The tomato sauce does have carbs, but not enough to kick this into XO … just make sure your tomato sauce has no added sugar.
Italian Stuffed Eggplant for Two
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb ground Italian sausage browned
- 1 black beauty eggplant medium sized
- 4 garlic cloves small-medium sized, minced
- 3-4 tbsp butter salted
- 1 tsp basil dried
- 1 tsp oregano dried
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz tomato sauce no sugar added
- 2 oz mozzarella cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise, and carefully scoop out the insides with a spoon. I had to run a knife around the inside between the skin and the center portion to loosen it first (be very careful if you do this!)
- Once the eggplant is hollowed out, set the skin portion aside (on a foiled covered cookie sheet if you want to save a step later).
- Dice up the inside of the eggplant into 1/2" - 1" pieces.
- In a heavy bottomed skillet, melt 3 tbsp of butter over medium heat (you can always add the last tbsp if desired or if there's not enough butter in the pan, but it's not required).
- Add the minced garlic, and saute about one minute or until lightly browned and fragrant.
- Stir in the diced eggplant inside portion with the garlic.
- Season the eggplant with the oregano, basil, salt, and pepper; stir well.
- Turn heat to low, and cover. Cook for about five to ten minutes, or until eggplant is tender.
- When eggplant is tender, stir in the cooked, ground sausage and the tomato sauce.
- Add more seasoning if desired, then carefully scoop the hot tomato-eggplant mixture into the eggplant skins that were hollowed out earlier.
- Sprinkle a light coating of mozzarella on top of the tomato-eggplant mixture in the skins, and bake uncovered for about 15-20 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned.
- Enjoy!
Did you try this recipe? Let me know how it turned out in the comments below.
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
Leave a Reply