Greek Style Stuffed Eggplant
INGREDIENTS
- 2 1/2 pound eggplants or a smaller variety, totaling 1 pound
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves, minced
- 1/2 pound ground lean lamb
- 3 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, minced
- 2 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeded and diced
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
GET COOKIN'
- Preheat oven to broil.
- Halve the eggplants lengthwise. Score pulp deeply with a sharp knife, being careful not to puncture skins.
- With a grapefruit knife or small melon baller, scoop out the pulp, set aside and leave ½-inch thick pieces.
- Sprinkle the shells with salt and invert them on paper towels to drain for 30 minutes.
- Cut the reserved pulp into ½-inch pieces. In a colander toss the pieces with the salt and let them drain for a few minutes. Pat dry.
- Reserve 1 tablespoon olive oil. Pat the shells dry with paper towels, brushing off any excess salt, and brush the eggplant with the olive oil.
- Place them in the broiler about 4 inches from the heat and cook 5 minutes, until they are tender and golden brown.
- In a skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat.
- Sauté onions and garlic until translucent.
- Add the ground lamb, tomatoes and eggplant pieces, stirring until meat is cooked through and eggplant becomes tender.
- Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Stir in the parsley, mint, tomatoes, feta and salt and pepper to taste. Divide the filling among the eggplant shells.
- Broil the stuffed eggplants in a large flameproof baking dish for 5 minutes or until the filling is golden brown.
