Baked Stuffed Eggplant

Photo: flickr user daveyll

Ingredients

2 smalls eggplants, cut lengthwise

2 smalls tomatoes, red ripe, halve/seed/dice

1/4 pound mozzarella cheese, diced

5 fresh basil leaves, shredded, up to 6

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 pch dried red pepper flakes

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350F.

With a tablespoon, scoop out some of the pulp from the eggplant halves, making sure not to break the skin. Place the eggplant halves on a large platter and sprinkle generously with slat. Let stand about 20 minutes to allow the salt to draw out the eggplant's bitter juices. Pat the eggplant dry with paper towels.

Dice the pulp of the eggplant and put it in a bowl with the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, parsley, garlic, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper flakes. Fill the eggplant's cavities with this mixture.

Oil a baking dish lightly, and put the eggplant halves into the dish. Bake until they are lightly golden, soft to the touvh, and easily pierced with the tip of a thin knife, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the eggplants.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

NOTES:This is from Biba Caggiano's "Trattoria Cooking" cookbook. It is easy to do and can be doubled and frozen for an additional meal later on.

One of Biba's notes is that she will dice any leftover eggplant and toss it quickly in a skillet with extra virgin olive oil and freshly diced tomatoes and serve it over penne, shells, or rigatoni.