Stuffed Baby Eggplant

This is a recipe my aunt passed on to me. She's been making these for as long as I can remember, and everyone loves them. You can use whatever bread is on hand. Recipe works well with white, wheat, or Italian bread crumbs. If you are in a hurry, you can skip the final step of baking in the oven, and cook the eggplants on top of the stove. This dish is also great topped with tomato sauce and sliced mozzarella cheese just before placing in the oven. Just be sure to cover the pan with aluminum foil before baking, venting with a few knife slits.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 4  italian baby eggplants, cut lengthwise in half
• 3  tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  onion, chopped
• 4  slices  dry bread, finely crumbled
•  salt and pepper, to taste
• 1⁄4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1  egg, beaten
• 1⁄3 cup romano cheese
• 1 -2  tablespoon water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare eggplants by slicing them in half lengthwise.
3. Scoop out the inside of the eggplant and cut into cubes.
4. Lay cubes on several paper towels and squeeze any moisture out of them by hand.
5. Boil shells in a large stockpot for 2 minutes and allow to cool.
6. Place a tablespoon of olive oil in a hot skillet. Add eggplant, onion, and garlic and saute.
7. In a large mixing bowl, stir the saute mixture into the remaining ingredients and combine well. Add a second tablespoon of water if mixture is too dry. If mixture is too loose, add more bread crumbs.
8. Fill the cooled eggplant shells with the mixture.
9. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a hot skillet. Place eggplants top side down in skillet and brown over medium heat.
10. Place browned stuffed baby eggplants in a baking dish.
11. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.