Imam Baldi

Stuffed eggplants

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8 purple long eggplants (Chinese), or small 14cm eggplants

4 medium  onions, cut into half and coarsely sliced

½ cup olive oil

8 Italian ripe plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon tomato paste

6 cloves garlic, thin sliced

1/2 cup red wine

½ cup chopped, flat parsley

½ teaspoon dry Greek oregano

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons bread crumbs

1 tablespoon basil chopped, or ½-teaspoon dry

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Preheat oven 190°c-375°f

Preparation

Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise. Scoop out the inside flesh and remove most of the seeds. Coarsely chop the eggplant flesh, mix with little lemon juice and set aside. Brush shells with olive oil and place them face down on a baking sheet and bake for 10’ minutes, or fry them lightly, or microwave to soften.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, sauté onion in olive oil for 10’ minutes, stirring frequently to prevent browning.  Add wine, garlic, chopped eggplant flesh, tomatoes, parsley, basil and oregano.  Simmer until soft, about 10’ minutes. Add bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper, mix and with tablespoon fill eggplant shells with mixture and bake for 30’-35' minutes. 

Serve hot with roast potatoes. Also can be served at room temperature