Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant Halves Food

MEDITERRANEAN STUFFED EGGPLANT HALVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat, add onions and garlic. Sweat, covered, for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Cut eggplants in half crosswise so that each half is of roughly equal volume. Carefully trim ends, if necessary, so that each half stands upright. Scoop out eggplant with a spoon, leaving a 1/4-inch shell. Reserve shells. Chop eggplant flesh coarsely.
• Add eggplant, cinnamon, raisins and lemon juice to skillet with onions. Cover, and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Take skillet off flame, allow to rest for a minute, and then gently fold in mint, parsley, Worcestershire and cheese. (If ricotta salata is not available, cheeses like feta or mozzarella may be substituted.) Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the mixture loosely into eggplant shells, and arrange upright on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 10 minutes. Let cool on a rack, then wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

MEDITERRANEAN STUFFED EGGPLANT - LOW CARB AND PRIMAL/PALEO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a cast iron skillet over medium high heat, cook ground meat in lard until well browned, scraping bottom with a wooden spoon periodically to avoid burning.
• In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onions in butter, with a little salt, until translucent (about five minutes). Add chopped mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms have softened.
• Add onion and mushroom mixture to meat in skillet, and stir to combine. Add chopped eggplant to skillet, stir to combine. Add seasonings, raisins and almonds. When eggplant softens, add water to skillet, and deglaze bottom of the pan.
• Add olive oil to the empty saucepan. Lightly salt eggplant cavities, and place eggplant in the saucepan, cut side down. Cook eggplant this way for about 3-5 minutes. Flip eggplant, exposing cavities. Cook eggplant in a 400 degree oven for another 5 minutes. Remove eggplant from the oven.
• Add cheeses to the meat mixture and stir to combine. Check for seasonings, and add salt if necessary. Divide meat mixture evenly, and stuff into the 4 eggplant halves.
• Bake until delicious, golden brown, and bubbly, about 5 more minutes.
• Serve.

STUFFED EGGPLANT MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE

Steps:

• Halve the egplant lengthwise. Hollow out the halves leaving 1/2 inch thick shells. Chop the eggplant pulp.
• In a medium skillet, cook mushrooms, onion, and eggplant pulp in hot oil for 5 minutes. Add tomato and cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat, and stir in cooked rice, salt, and pepper.
• Lightly grease a square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place eggplant halves, cut side up, in dish. Spoon half of filling into each eggplant half.
• Bake, uncovered, in a 350º oven for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 10 to 15 minutes more until heated through and eggplant shells are tender.