An Italian recipe
An Italian friend of mine, who is a fabulous cook, was kind enough to give me this recipe. Or at least, this is how I wrote it down – it’s probably not exactly like his anymore. A lot of people think they don’t like eggplant, but try this. It’s basically twice baked potatoes but with eggplant.
How to make stuffed eggplant:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Take a large eggplant and cut it in half the long way. Pour a little olive oil on a baking sheet and place the eggplant halves cut side down. Roast the eggplant for about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, chop an onion.
When the eggplant is roasted, let it cool a little and then scoop out the insides (leaving enough so the sides won’t cave in) and put them in a medium-size mixing bowl. Mash the eggplant in the bowl. Add the chopped onion, a cup of breadcrumbs, a cup of ricotta cheese, a large pinch of kosher salt and a teaspoon of pepper.
(To make ricotta at home, heat a quart of milk in a saucepan, and when it’s warm add a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to curdle it. Then strain out the whey through a cheesecloth.)
Mix, and then add four eggs, and mix again. Put the mixture back into the eggplant shells and bake at 350 F for half an hour. Serve warm, with a green salad and sliced tomatoes.
Vegetarian or vegan?
Vegetarian. You can make stuffed eggplant vegan by using tofu in place of the ricotta cheese.
And will stuffed eggplant keep?
Yes, it will be fine the next day, if you keep it in a tupperware in the refrigerator.