Berenjena Rellena Spanish Stuffed Eggplant Food

SPANISH STUFFED EGGPLANT RECIPE (BERENJENAS RELLENAS)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C)
• Wash the eggplants well and cut them in half lengthwise
• Put them on a baking sheet, skin side down and make crisscross cuts through the flesh
• Drizzle with lots of olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until flesh is completely tender and easy to scoop out
• Take the eggplants out of the oven and let them rest for 15 minutes covered in aluminum foil while you prepare the filling (this ensures they're easy to scoop)
• Mince the garlic and dice the onion and pepper very small
• Saute the diced vegetables in hot olive oil while you scrape out the flesh of each eggplant and add it to the pan
• When the vegetables are starting to brown, add the ground meat (or the vegetarian mixture) and saute until cooked through
• Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat
• Let the mixture rest for a few minutes before filling the empty eggplant skins
• To fill the skins, first add a layer of tomato sauce to the empty skins before filling
• Fill each skin to the top, and cover in mozzarella cheese
• Put under the broiler until just browned on the top
• Enjoy your Spanish stuffed eggplants!

SPANISH STUFFED EGGPLANT RECIPE (BERENJENAS RELLENAS)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C.
• Wash the eggplants, dry them, and cut them lengthwise.
• Put the eggplant, skin down, on a baking sheet and cut the flesh.
• Add extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.
• Bake the eggplants for around 45 to 60 minutes, until the flesh is tender.
• Take the eggplants out of the oven and let them rest while you are preparing the filling.
• Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
• Heat up olive oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic.
• Scrape out the flesh of the eggplants and add it to the pan once the onions starting to brown.
• Add the ground meat, sea salt, and pepper to the vegetables and saute until cooked through.
• Let the filling rest for a few minutes while you add a layer of tomato sauce to the empty eggplant skins.
• Fill the eggplants skins with the filling and cover them with shredded mozzarella cheese
• Put the eggplants for around 10 minutes under the broiler until the mozzarella cheese browned.
• Enjoy your Spanish stuffed eggplant! (Tip: Serve with rice)

BERENJENAS RELLENAS (STUFFED EGGPLANTS)

Steps:

• Wash the eggplants and cut them in half lengthwise. Hollow them out with a spoon. Combine the lamb together thoroughly with the egg, onion, garlic, cinnamon, salt, pepper and parsley, and fill the eggplants with the mixture. Heat the olive oil in a flameproof baking dish and put the eggplants in it. Sprinkle the filling with cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and cook in a preheated oven at 390 degreees F for about 40 minutes. Remove the foil 10 minutes before the end of the cooking period.

BERENJENAS EN ESCABECHE - MARINATED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Trim the ends off the eggplant.
• Cut in in half lengthwise, and then lay it flat side down and cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices.
• Put the slices layer upon layer in a roasting pan.
• Salt each layer with coarse salt and let sit for 2 hours. (The salt draws out the bitterness and moisture from the eggplant.)
• After two hours, drain and rinse the eggplant.
• Put the eggplant, the vinegar and the water in a stock pot and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat to a simmer and cook the eggplant until it takes on a translucent look, about 35 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl.
• When the eggplant has cooked through, drain off half of the vinegar/water and put the rest, along with the eggplant, in the bowl with the oil mixture. Mix well.
• Refrigerate until cold.

BERENJENA A LA VERACRUZANA - MEXICAN EGGPLANT IN SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut the peel from the eggplant and cut into approximate 1/2 to 3/4 inch strips. Add them a handful at a time to a colander, salting them well between layers, until all of them are in the colander. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow them to "sweat" their bitterness out and lose liquid.
• While the eggplant is in the colander, make the sauce. In a large, heavy pot (I use my Le Creuset), heat the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté until just translucent. Add the garlic and chiles, stir well, and sauté, stirring occasionally, for an additional 7-10 minutes until onion is soft.
• Add the tomatoes and stir well. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes and the liquids are reduced by about half.
• Rinse the salted eggplant and drain well.
• Add all the remaining ingredients (including eggplant) to the pot, stir well, and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes until eggplant is well-cooked and the sauce is the consistency that you like (you may want to remove the cover for the last 5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit). Remove bay leaves.
• Serve with polenta rounds or squares (or some other favorite method of prepared polenta), drizzled with a little crema. Enjoy!