Aug 09, 2006
Looking at this recipe, I thought it was a really good basis for a stuffed eggplant. I did however change a lot--I used Hot Italian Turkey Sausage (2) and cooked it in about 5 tbsp garlic (since I love garlic). I only used about 1.5 tbsp of olive oil total (I didn't understand why they would originally use that much!) When I added the chopped eggplant, I also add very fine chopped mushrooms (~1.5 cups), and diced sweet onion (half an onion). I didn't have any wine on hand so I put in just a tiny bit of water, but found that with all those veggies in the pot, there was plenty of liquid. I pretty much kept the spices the same, but threw in a bunch of my favorites (I randomly grabbed stuff). I also added about 3/4 cup grated sharp white chedder cheese instead, and only added about a cup or so of bread crumbs (enough were there was no liquid and the mixture was smooth--I am not a fan of a lot of bready mixtures). I stuffed the eggplants, and baked them for just under 30 min. I thought they were great, huge portions (I've had left overs for a few days), and are great with a green salad or as an appetizer. One thing I will do next time is add more onion, and reserve some of the stuffing mixture and possibly make patties or something with it so there isn't so much stuffing in the eggplants themselves.
—Sarah
