Stuffed Baby Eggplants

stuffedeggplant

It has been a very odd summer here in Umbria, and from what I hear from family and friends back home, the weather has been unusual there as well. Up until now, it has been pretty wet and cool, although now that we are in the middle of August and summer will soon be over, it seems our “true” summer has finally arrived. In fact, the past week we’ve had lots of sunny days and warmer temperatures. Oh well, maybe we’ll have a very nice warm, long fall! Unfortunately, the cool, wet start to our summer hasn’t helped our garden at all.

Although our garden was doing really well in the beginning, our zucchini are now rotting on the vines, our tomato plants have simply stopped growing, and our eggplants grow to about three to four inches in length and just give up. If I leave the eggplants on the plants longer to see if they may just continue to grow, they end up getting very bitter and are all but useless.

The plants are very prolific in producing eggplants, but they simply do not want to grow. I therefore end up with a great many baby eggplants, which are as cute as they can be, but are somewhat challenging to cook with.

I have found that these baby eggplants like to be stuffed, and are in fact the perfect size for stuffing. Being as small as they are, the outer shell of the eggplant cooks completely as the filling cooks so no prior prep or precooking is needed before they are stuffed.

I have played around with the stuffing ingredients depending on what I have in my refrigerator, but basically the stuffing includes the flesh removed from the eggplants, onions, garlic, tomatoes, eggs, and cheese. In the past, I have also added some chopped red peppers, and finely diced zucchini when I had it on hand, but the basic stuffing works well on its own as listed below.

I serve these eggplants as our main course for a meatless meal, but since they are small, you they could also serve one as an appetizer. They hold up well, and I enjoy leftovers at lunch the following day, and think they would be a great take along option for picnics. If you cannot find baby eggplants, buy a couple of the smallest ones you can find.

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Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 

Stuffed Baby Eggplants

Stuffed Baby Eggplants

Yield: Serves 4-6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Tender baby eggplants are stuffed with cheese and tomatoes in this dish.

Ingredients

  • 6 Baby Eggplants (4 Inches In Length)
  • 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 Medium Onion, Peeled & Diced
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
  • 5 Medium Ripe Tomatoes, Cored, And Lightly Squeezed To Remove Seeds
  • 2 Large Eggs, Lightly Beaten
  • 1/4 Cup Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
  • 3 Teaspoons Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley
  • Salt & Pepper

Topping:

  • 1/3 Cup Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Cut the eggplants in half, and use a sharp knife to cut around the outer edge leaving a small border without piercing the skin.
  3. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, and finely chop it.
  4. Place the eggplants cut side up on a baking sheet.
  5. In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat, and then cook the onion until it is translucent, and 5 minutes.
  6. Add the garlic and eggplant flesh, and continue to cook until soft, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  7. Add the tomatoes and cook another 5 minutes until the mixture is thick.
  8. Remove the pan from the stove and stir in the eggs, cheese, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.
  9. Spoon the filling in to the eggplant shells, and top with the grated cheese.
  10. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.
  11. Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 eggplant
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 339Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 196mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 16gSugar: 22gProtein: 10g

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18 Comments

  1. This stuffed baby eggplant recipe sounds just fantastic. I cannot wait to try it, which I will be soon. Thank you so much. Amybeth Hurst, Portland, ME

  2. I’m always looking forward to whatever you have been cooking. These stuffed eggplants looked delicious. I am going to be making them this week for my family. They all love eggplant. I love looking at your beautiful scenic pictures of Italy. My family will be vacationing in southern Italy end of October and 1st week of November. Can’t wait!

    Thank you for sharing your recipe,
    Donna

  3. I always buy these little gems and then wonder what to do with them! I plan to make these on the weekend.. Thank you!!

  4. My grandmother made these but added smashed up meatballs from her Sunday gravy. Delicious both ways. Thanks for all the great recipes. They make my mouth water just reading them.

  5. I made this eggplant recipe this weekend! They were absolutely delicious and I plan to make them again. Thank you for the recipe. Love the website!! Ciao!

  6. Just made these and the recipe was perfect! I added some shredded mozzarella and sliced off a little of the bottom to make them flat then cut the tops off and scooped out standing up instead of two halves. I finished some by adding cheese on top but the ones without were perfect. The extra cheese wasn’t really needed though, and the one I stuffed without the extra cheese was the best. Thanks for providing an awesome recipe!!!

  7. Made this tonight and my husband loved it! He said it’s his favorite eggplant recipe. We ate them hot, and I agree, they were delicious.Thanks for the recipe.

  8. I am growing 2 baby eggplants & once they start producing fruit, you are set for a very long time. I grilled them & simply cut them in half,brushed them with olive oil for 5 minutes, face down. I sprinkled them with parmasian cheese while they are still hot. Easy, quick & delicious.

  9. These were amazing.  I had too much stuffing so I stuffed some large mushrooms with the eggplant stuffing.  I ate 3  stuffed mushrooms for lunch! I will be making these often and plan on making them for our side vegetable at Easter dinner.

  10. I made this recipe last night and it was a hit!  I used my grapefruit spoon to scoop out the baby eggplant and it proved to be really efficient.  Also, I only had one tomato so I put about a tablespoon of  tomato paste in for flavor.

  11. These sound so delicious and I’m making them for dinner tonight. I have all ingredients EXCEPT tomatoes. I have lots of canned tomatoes on hand. Can I use that instead?

  12. Loved these! Thanks for the recipe. I saw the cute little eggplants at the farmer’s market and couldn’t resist them. These were firm, but delicious. I wish I had a smidge more salt, but that’s on me. 🙂

  13. I made this recipe twice. I followed the instructions to the letter the first time but the eggplants were almost raw. The second time I pre-roasted the eggplant shells for 15 minutes, let them cool, then continued with the rest of the recipe, and they were fine.

    I may have been using a different variety of eggplant than you did – there are so many! But without the pre-roasting they were tough and underdone.

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