Eggplant is a flavorful vegetable, a suitable alternative to meat in a vegetarian dish. They can be added to vegetable stews, fried and even stuffed with various fillings.
It is necessary
-
- 2 eggplants;
- 1 onion;
- 250 g of mushrooms;
- a bunch of parsley;
- 3-4 cloves of garlic;
- 50 g pine nuts;
- 300 g spinach;
- vegetable oil;
- 70 g of curd cheese;
- 50 g parmesan;
- 1 lemon;
- salt and pepper.
Instructions
Step 1
Wash and cut the eggplants lengthwise, and very large ones also crosswise. If you are worried that they will taste bitter, soak the cut vegetables in water for an hour. This is not necessary, because some in eggplants are attracted by the light piquant bitterness. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil, place the eggplants on top of it, pulp side down, and bake for about 15 minutes. Then take them out, cool and spoon out the baked pulp with a spoon. Cut it up and place it in a separate bowl.
Step 2
Take care of the stuffing. Chop the onion finely and fry it in hot oil for 4-5 minutes. Then add the minced garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Put the eggplant pulp into this mass. Cut the mushrooms into cubes and add to the vegetables. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes. Add chopped spinach greens last. Season with salt and simmer for another 3-4 minutes. Then the cooking temperature should be lowered, and Parmesan and curd cheese should be put into the pan without additives. Mix everything, add salt and pepper if necessary. Keep the mixture on fire for no more than 3 minutes.
Step 3
Prepare the second portion of the filling. Grate lemon zest, add peeled pine nuts and chopped parsley. Start stuffing the eggplant. Place a layer of the cheese mixture in them first, followed by the nuts and zest. Bake the eggplants again, this time no more than 10 minutes. It is advisable to serve such a dish as a hot snack. Toast with white bread or fresh baguette will go well with it. No special sauce is required - the eggplants are very juicy and spicy.
Step 4
If desired, the recipe can be slightly modified. In this case, the second part of the nut filling is not used, and the parmesan is added at the end - they need to be sprinkled on the eggplant before baking. Parmesan can also be replaced with emmental cheese, which will slightly change the taste of the final dish.
