Imam Bayeldi (Stuffed Eggplant)
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hours
Serves: 4
Equipment:
Skillet
Spoon
Baking dish
Mixing bowl
Basting brush
Ingredients:
4 Louisiana Long green eggplants – cut in half lengthwise
2 squash (patty pan, zucchini, yellow-choice is up to you) chopped
2 Creole tomatoes – peeled, seeded, & cut into cubes
1 sweet bell pepper – seeded & diced
1 8oz pack Baby Shiitakes – stems removed, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium Onions, finely chopped
1 bunch Parsley, stems removed & chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
8 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
Preheat to 300 F
Slice the eggplants in half lengthwise, cut side down, with 2 tbsp olive oil in skillet to brown—about 10 minutes.
Once browned, use a spoon to remove some of the flesh from the eggplant.
Place the eggplant halves in large baking dish (9”x13”).
Grab a med-sized mixing bowl to combine eggplant flesh, squash, tomatoes, sweet bell pepper, shiitakes, garlic, onions, parsley, cumin, along with salt & Pepper to taste.
Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in skillet, add eggplant mixture, and cook over high heat for 5 minutes.
Pour one tbsp over each eggplant half, add a bit of salt, then place 2 spoonfuls of sautéed eggplant mixture on top. Place in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
If eggplants seem to be drying out while cooking baste them with a little oil.