Sausage and Rice Stuffed Eggplants

More eggplants? Well, vegetable gardens are prolific this time of year. My eggplants this year have been producing more quickly than rabbits in heat, and it's hard to keep up with them all. The eggplant "fries" from my last post have been a big hit, but man does not live by eggplant fries alone. Stuffed eggplants hit the right notes for my husband, with a filling of Italian sausage, rice, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. It's like eating eggplant parm but with the extra benefit of more protein. If you're vegetarian and want to eliminate the sausage, it will still be delicious. 

I started with these "fairy tale" eggplants, which I've never grown until this year. They're tiny, even when mature, reaching only three or four inches in length. They tend to morph from white to yellow when they ripen, with a purple striation that turns beige when cooked. But you can use those longer, glossy, all-purple eggplants too. I trimmed most of the green from the top (see the one that isn't trimmed below as well as the ones that are trimmed) but left a little nub at the top to keep the eggplants from opening up too much.

Make a crosshatch in each one, being careful not to break the skin. Smear with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

Then flip them over and bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour.

They'll come out of the oven looking like this. 

Scoop out the insides, being careful not to break the outer shell, if possible.

Chop the interior into small pieces.

I saved some of the interior for later use to make eggplant "meatballs." Cut up a mozzarella, and use half in the stuffing, then save half to spread on top.

Mix all the filling ingredients together.

Spread some tomato sauce on the bottom of a pan, then place the stuffed eggplants on top. Spread the remaining mozzarella and a little more tomato sauce over everything.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, covered with aluminum foil, but remove the foil for the last 15 minutes. Sit down and enjoy these beauties.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)
Sausage and Rice Stuffed Eggplants

8 small "Fairy tale" eggplants, or three large eggplants

3 cups cooked rice (brown or white)

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 lb. Italian sausage (raw)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated 

salt, pepper

minced parsley

marinara sauce

Trim the stems of the eggplants but leave a little "nub" at the top to help keep it together when it bakes in the oven. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, then make crosshatch marks on each half, being careful not to cut through the skin. Rub with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place skin side up on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the eggplants from the oven and when they are cool enough to handle, scoop out the interior with a spoon. Using a sharp knife, chop the cooked eggplant into small pieces.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add the rice, parmesan cheese, raw sausage, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley and about 1/2 of the mozzarella, keeping the other half aside to use on top.

Add the chopped eggplant to the bowl, along with 1/2 cup of marinara sauce. Mix everything well, then stuff into the eggplants.

Line a casserole (or two as I did if using the fairy tale eggplants) with some marinara sauce. Place the eggplants in the casserole and then top each eggplant with more of the mozzarella and more of the marinara sauce. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 for 45 minutes or until the sausage is cooked and the dish is piping hot. Remove the foil during the last 15 minutes.