Eggplant is a particularly good receptacle for leftovers, such as cooked rice or grains and the remains of a roast. When I’m using eggplant, I usually roast it in the morning, or the night before I’m going to stuff it. Then it takes only about 40 minutes to be ready to enjoy. This stuffed eggplant is good hot, warm, or at room temperature, so you can to take it on a picnic, or to the park for lunch.
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Prick the eggplant all over with a fork, and put it in a preheated 425° oven for 35 minutes. Remove, and let cool. Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise, and scoop out the flesh, leaving a comfortable border of skin and flesh all around. Chop the eggplant flesh you have extracted, and mix it in a bowl with the rice, meat, scallions, pine nuts, and tomatoes. Season with cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Spoon this filling back into the eggplant shells, mounding it up in the middle, and arrange the halves in a shallow baking pan that just holds them. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top, and drizzle onto them a little olive oil. Bake in a preheated 400° oven for 30–35 minutes, until tender and browned on top.
Variation
Step 2
Stuff green peppers or zucchini in the same way, using the same general proportions. I like to blanch both these vegetables for a couple of in boiling water before I fill them and bake them.
