Monday: Stuffed eggplant

Inspiration from a cooking show I caught a bit of while we were in Romania.

Poke a couple holes through the skin of an eggplant so that it doesn't burst. Toss it under the broiler for a while on each side until the skin is ready to come off. Let cool a bit, peel, cut in half, scoop out the insides, and dice it fine.

Make the filling: Brown some ground pork with a couple pinches of salt and then set aside. Cook some diced onion and minced garlic in olive oil until the onion caramelizes. add thinly sliced green and red bell pepper and the diced eggplant guts and cook another couple minutes. Add back the pork along with a sprinkling of flour and mix well. Add a splash of dry vermouth and cook to reduce it some. Turn off the heat and add chopped fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano). Adjust seasoning.

Fill the eggplant halves, top with crushed crackers (no bread crumbs in the house), and bake at 200C for about 20 minutes. Serve with basmati rice.

I had also picked up a hokkaido (potimarron) squash. This I cut in half, scooped out the guts, and baked at 175C until it was tender. After cooling for a bit I peeled half the squash, mashed it up with olive oil, salt, and raclette spices. This we served topped with chives and black pepper.

Very good food.