Spanish Stuffed Eggplant with Ground Beef and Browned Mozzarella
By Liam Carter
Prep
20 min
Cook
90 min
Total
110 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
This recipe for Spanish-stuffed eggplant serves four․ Prepare this dish ahead of time by roasting the eggplants and cooking the other vegetables and meat a day in advance․ Reheat and broil as needed before serving․ Each half is stuffed with a mixture of roasted eggplant and tomato, green pepper, and ground beef․ Mozzarella cheese is browned on top․
Two eggplants are cut in half lengthwise and roasted with olive oil and salt․ Ground beef is cooked with yellow onion, green pepper, garlic, parsley, sea salt, black pepper, oregano, and diced fresh tomatoes․ Tomato juice is added to the skillet to create a sauce using meat drippings․ The eggplant halves are filled and topped with shredded mozzarella and broiled․
Brown and soften the eggplant to scoop it․ Allow the eggplant to rest for 10 minutes before scooping so it will be easier to handle․ Sautéed onions and garlic and other toasted spices with the eggplant filling will add flavor․ Be careful not to cut the eggplant skin when scoring or scooping․ Cutting the skin may cause it to split when stuffing․
Serve each half with Spanish rice, olives, cheeses, a green salad, gazpacho, or crusty bread as a complete meal․ Keep leftover halves refrigerated in an airtight container․ The whole meal can also be frozen in a freezer container for later use․
Why you'll love this recipe
- The meat mixture can be made ahead of time to reduce preparation time when assembling and broiling the meal․
- Four servings of cut eggplant halves are prepared servings․ This allows four servings to be easily served as a side dish without providing other side dishes․
- Halved and stuffed eggplant can be refrigerated in an airtight container and eaten for lunch after dinner․
- Freezing leftover casseroles saves other parts of the meal․ You can freeze single servings of casseroles to eat without warming up the whole casserole․
- Roasting and stuffing are two distinct steps that allow you to cook the stuffing ahead of time and give the roasted eggplant time to cool before stuffing it․
- Reheating in the microwave or oven at 350 degrees enables leftover pies to be served without making new filling․
Ingredients
- •2 large eggplants (about 2½ pounds)
- •good quality olive oil (for drizzling)
- •salt (to taste)
- •2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
- •1 pound lean ground beef, pork, or lamb
- •2 cups yellow onion (finely diced)
- •1 ¼ cups green pepper (finely diced)
- •1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- •¼ cup fresh parsley (chopped)
- •1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- •1 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)
- •1 teaspoon dried oregano
- •1 ½ cups fresh tomato (finely diced, about 4 Roma tomatoes)
- •6 ounces mozzarella (finely grated)
Instructions
- 1
Wash the eggplants, cut them in half lengthwise, and score the cut sides in a diamond pattern with a chef's knife.
- 2
Place the eggplant halves on a foil-lined baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake at 350°F for 1 hour.
- 3
Remove the eggplant when browned on top and soft inside.
- 4
Let the roasted eggplant cool for 10 minutes, then scoop out the cooked flesh into a bowl and break up large clumps with a metal spoon.
- 5
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, then brown the ground beef and season with salt.
- 6
Remove the cooked meat with a slotted spoon or spider to drain the fat.
- 7
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the same skillet, then sauté the onion and green pepper until the onion is golden brown.
- 8
Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
- 9
Bloom the sea salt, black pepper, oregano, and parsley for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- 10
Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 1 minute, using a wooden turner to scrape browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- 11
Mix in the cooked ground beef and reduce the heat to low.
- 12
Add the cooked eggplant flesh to the skillet, stir, and cook for 1 minute. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
- 13
Stuff the eggplant meat mixture into the hollowed eggplant shells.
- 14
Sprinkle with grated mozzarella and broil for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
- 15
Serve as a main course and garnish with fresh parsley.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
509
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