Stuffed Eggplant With Cheese and Tomatoes

This reminds me a bit of eggplant parmesan, only much healthier. You could probably make this ahead and just save the baking part until you are ready to serve. I modified this recipe from Vegetarian Times magazine to give it more flavor. Among the things I added were the tomato sauce and extra cheese. I have listed them as optional ingredients, but I highly recommend it since it really adds so much to this dish. You can use whatever sauce you want (leftover spaghetti or pizza sauce would be good). I simply chopped up a few roma tomatoes and added a bit of red wine vinegar, garlic, and herbs, and cooked them all in a pan for a few minutes.

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1  large eggplant, unpeeled with stem intact
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 2  roma tomatoes or 1  large tomatoes, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup onion, chopped
• 2  cloves garlic, minced
• 1  tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1⁄2 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, to taste
•  fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, to taste
•  hot  pasta sauce, homemade or jarred (optional)
•  mozzarella cheese or  feta or  parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Place eggplant in a large pot filled with water; bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, or until tender.
2. Drain eggplant and allow to cool enough to be handled.
3. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet or pan with foil.
4. Heat the olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat; saute the tomatoes, garlic and onion until the onion is golden (about 5 minutes).
5. Cut cooled eggplant in half lengthwise and remove the flesh.
6. Chop up the flesh and add it to the pan with the onion-garlic-tomato mixture.
7. Stir in the cheese, salt pepper, cinnamon, parsley, and oregano and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
8. Remove mixture from heat; place eggplant shells on baking sheet and fill with this mixture.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and the eggplant starts to brown.
10. Remove from the oven; top with hot tomato or pasta sauce and cheese.