Makes 8 Halves
Ingredients
4 Eggplants
500g Beef Mince
1 Clove of Garlic
Handful of Flat Parsley
Handful of Parmesan Cheese - About 30g
Handful of Provolone/Caciocavallo - About 30g
Piece of day old Ciabatta Loaf - About 150g (Can be substituted for breadcrumbs, but bread works heaps better)
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
1 Egg
Salt
Method
Preheat your oven to 240°c.
There are two ways you can cook the flesh of the eggplants, either steam or simmer. Simmering them means they will absorb extra water (which we will squeeze out later) while steaming them will stop this.
Depending which method you choose put your pot on the stove ready to go.
Cut your eggplants in half, length ways and score the inside flesh, being careful not to get the skins. Add them as well as a clove of garlic to the steamer or simmering water, they should take between 10-15 minutes to cook.
To know if the eggplants are ready you should be able to scoop of the flesh easily with a spoon.
While they're cooking add the bread, cheeses and parsley to your food processor and turn it on, once you have a coarse crumb you can add it to a mixing bowl.
To the bowl add in the meat, egg, sour cream and a good sprinkle of salt. Use your hands to combine everything together.
When the eggplants are ready place them on a tray to cool, once they're cool enough to handle scoop out the flesh with a spoon, making sure you still leave a little flesh around the skin. Add them to a colander and give them a squeeze to release any excess water.
Place the pressed eggplant flesh in the food processor and pulse a few times, this will keep the eggplant quite chunky. If you have picky eaters or prefer it smoother you can blend it more, which also means you can add the garlic in at this stage. Add the mixture to the bowl with the other ingredients.
If you've kept the eggplants chunky you'll need to mash the garlic. You can do this easily by pressing your knife down flat on top of the clove on a chopping board, then add it to the bowl.
Now give everything a good mix making sure its all combined.
It's time to fill the eggplants, I use my hands to stuff the eggplants because this means I can also press down to compact the stuffing a bit and give it a smooth finish.
Place the stuffed eggplants on a lined tray, drizzle them with some oil and put them in the oven, uncovered, to cook for about 15-20 minutes.
I like serve mine with a fresh tomato sugo (here's my recipe) or with a simple rocket salad and balsamic dressing.
Enjoy x
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