By: Chef Laura Bonicelli
Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant has the familiar flavors of the Mediterranean baked into a delicious eggplant shell.
Buy your eggplant at your favorite Farmers Market!
About Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant
I am an eggplant lover. Unfortunately, many people aren’t. It could be a textural thing, or perhaps it’s that improperly cooked eggplant is terrible. I can tell you that over my twelve years of cooking for meal delivery, catering, and my restaurant – the number one disliked vegetable – was eggplant.
This Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant recipe is one of several stuffed eggplant recipes I’ve written. I’ve fed this to many a skeptical eggplant haters and converted quite a few into – at least – eggplant likers.
Baking the eggplant shell first is critical to making this dish work. It will cook through and be soft and delicious. The filling has crunch, texture, and the robust flavor of the feta, sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, and oregano make the dish sing.
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Step by Step Instructions
Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant
Ingredients
- 3 medium-sized eggplants
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
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- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion -- chopped
- 3 cloves garlic -- minced
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- 2 red or yellow bell peppers -- chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
- 4 plum tomatoes -- chopped
- 1/4 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes -- packed in oil and drained
- 2 medium zucchini -- chopped
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
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- 1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper -- to taste
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- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 cup cooked orzo pasta
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- 3/4 cup panko
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
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- fresh basil -- for garnish
- fresh oregano -- for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise through the stem. Scoop out the pulp leaving a 1/4-inch shell. Season the shell with salt and pepper. Place each shell, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the halves for 15 - 20 minutes, until soft. Chop the removed eggplant pulp.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped eggplant and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes until thoroughly cooked. Remove from the pan to a bowl.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add in the onion and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes or until tender.
- Stir in the chopped peppers, herbs, plum tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, zucchini, and vinegar. Sauté for 6 minutes. Return the eggplant to the pan and season with salt and pepper.
- Remove the pan from the heat and cool, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Stir the feta and orzo into the mixture.
- Combine the panko and oil.
- Spoon about 1 cup of the eggplant mixture into each eggplant shell and sprinkle the panko mixture over the tops. Spray lightly with cooking spray.
- Bake, in the 375º oven, for 20 minutes until heated through and the panko begins to brown. Garnish with fresh basil and oregano.
Notes
Chef Laura Bonicelli
Nutrition
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