Ingredients:
- 2 Med. Eggplant, raw, do not peel.
- 2 tsp olive oil
- cooking spray
- 1 large onion, chopped into 1/4" pieces
- 1 large carrot (I used 2, however), chopped into 1/4" pieces
- 2 medium sweet red peppers, chopped into 1/4" pieces
- 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 medium portobello mushrooms, caps, chopped into 1/2" dice
- 2 tbsp parsley, fresh, chopped
- 1 tbsp thyme, or 1 tsp dried thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 15 oz tomato sauce, or 2 cups homemade sauce
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
EDIT 1.5. Cut eggplants lengthwise.
2. Rub cut sides of eggplants with oil. Place on a nonstick baking sheet, cut sides up.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes (eggplant should not be cooked entirely through)
4. Remove from oven and flip over, let cool on sheet. Leave oven on.
5. Meanwhile, coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over med-hi heat. Add onions, carrots and peppers. Saute until soft and slightly brown, about 5-7 min. (I like my onions really soft, so I put them in for a minute or two first.)
6. Add garlic and mushrooms. Increase heat to hi and continue to saute until mushrooms soften and release their juices, about 5-7 min.
7. Remove from heat and stir in parsley and thyme, season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Scoop out flesh of cooled eggplant with a soup spoon, leaving about 1/4" of eggplant flesh in the skin. Coarsely chop flesh and add to mushroom mixture. Mix well.
9. Fill each eggplant shell with about 1 1/2 cups of filling. Place stuffed eggplant shells in a nonstick pan. Spoon 1/2 cup of tomato sauce over each eggplant and bake for 15 minutes.
One stuffed eggplant per serving. If you're going to reheat a frozen eggplant, thaw and reheat for 15 to 20 minutes in a 350F oven!
mmmmm. yum!
As a side note, I made a delicious chocolate cake from a mix that I THINK is local, but once I remember the name I'll post again. The icing had a dinosaur shape on it in dino-sprinkles. Epic-ly vegan and delicious :O)!
