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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Stuffed Baked Eggplant, or Eggplant Canoes (Barquinhos de Berinjela)

Pin It Eggplant is such a versatile vegetable, however, I don't think it gets all the credits it deserves here in the States. In Brazil, eggplant dishes are a lot more popular. These "eggplant canoes", named after the final shape of the dish, are how it was often cooked at home. My mom loves it.
You can stuff the eggplant with pretty much anything you want. Being vegetarians, mom and I like to use tomatoes, herbs, cheese along with the eggplant body. But I've seen it stuffed with ground meat (turkey and beef). Another way of making it vegetarian and hearty is to use ground Textured Vegetable Protein (you can find it in bulk at natural food stores or some supermarkets).




Stuffed Baked Eggplant Recipe:

1 eggplant, halved
olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
a handful of sliced white mushrooms
fresh parsley and basil
panko or breadcrumbs
shredded Parmesan
salt and pepper

Scoop out most of the inside of the eggplant and roughly chop it. Be sure to leave a shell that will be strong enough to hold the filling. Cook onions in oil until translucent, add garlic and cook a minute more. Add the eggplant and mushrooms, cook for about 5 minutes, add tomatoes and cook for another 3 minutes or so. Add fresh herbs, season with salt and pepper.

Fill the eggplant shells with vegetable mixture, top with breadcrumbs and cheese. Drizzle with olive oil (or top with pieces of butter if you prefer).
Bake it at 350 degrees F until eggplant is cooked, but still holds its shape.
Enjoy it!


This is my entry to Weekend Wokking event, hosted this month by Palachinka. This month's secret ingredient is...of course, eggplant, but who knows what it will be next month? Check out the event's page to find out more about it.

7 comments:

Wandering Chopsticks said...

This looks lovely. I like how you called it a "canoe." Never thought of it that way before. :) Thanks for participating in Weekend Wokking!

Rita said...

Thanks Wondering Chopsticks! That's how we call them in Brazil.

Marija said...

Rita, those boats are so cute! Thanks for participating!

Anonymous said...

hmmm.. q delícia!! parabéns, vc é mto caprichosa :)

TeaLady said...

These look good.

Anonymous said...

How many minutes shall i bake it ?

Rita said...

@Anonymous: It depends on your oven,but I normally leave it for about 1 hour, keeping an eye on it for the last 20 minutes.

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