 |
| Eggplant, right from the oven |
I discovered this way of preparing eggplant when I was a student. One cold and beautiful autumn in Moscow I got tired of all known to me ways to prepare eggplants, tomatoes and paprika, that were really cheap during that season. This is a vegetarian student recipe that everyone normally likes. Let's find out what you think about it :)
You will need:
1 eggplant (You'll need a big and if possible rather wide one. One half is usually enough for one portion.)
1 big or 2 small tomatoes (I usually pick beef- or plum tomatoes - they are not that juicy)
1 medium paprika
Spices: garlic, salt, pepper, coriander... Spices can be different, I like combination of garlic with coriander.
1-3 teaspoon of mayonnaise or sour-cream
50-75 g grated cheese
Deep form and oven :)
Let's start!
Warm the oven up to 175°.
In the meanwhile let's take eggplant and cut it along in two pieces. Then we need to carefully remove the middle part so that only thin (2-5 mm) skin stays. This is the most difficult part of the recipe, because, on one hand, if you make a hole in the skin, all the juice will run out, but on the other hand if it is too thick, it will be raw skin and overdone filling. So what I do is to make cuts in the eggplants "body" so that they are forming squares or stripes (depends on the depth and length of the eggplant), then I remove them carefully by fingers. This process can take some time, then eggplant can get a bit brown, as on my picture, it's okay :)
 |
| Skin of the eggplant |
Now lets make the filling ready. Take all eggplant "body" pieces and cut them into small cubes about 4-6 mm wide. Cut tomatoes and paprika in cubes of equal size. Mix tomatoes, paprika and eggplant with spices. If you choose to use garlic, it has to be cut in very small pieces or mashed.
 |
| Filling for eggplant |
Now lets put the filling inside the skin plates. Use spoon or fingers to stuff it full.
 |
| Stuffed eggplant without cheese cover |
Stuffed eggplant should be placed in the form as stable as possible so that the juice will not run over one side. After it's done, put carefully mayonnaise (or sour cream) on top and cover each eggplant part with grated cheese. While adding cheese, you can carefully press on top of the stuffing to make it fill the eggplant tighter.
 |
| Ready for baking! |
Now the dish is ready to be sent into the oven. Bake it in the middle of the oven for about 25-45 minutes, the time depends on how thin the skin is, and how big the eggplant is. If the eggplant is not ready yet, but the cheese looks pretty ready - reduce heat to 150° for a while. If vise versa - increase the temperature to 200° until cheese becomes of golden color and crispy.
This eggplant is ready to serve right after it's taken from the oven, but it's very good when cold as well. Enjoy!
Kommentarer