Gorgeous Eggplant is Gorgeous

            Eggplant is one of those foods that I’m pretty sure I’ve eaten before, but I couldn’t really tell you what it tastes like. But since I have no memories of it being gross and stuffed eggplant sounded really yummy, I decided to give it a shot! And it also meant that I could knock out another Moosewood recipe: Greek Pilaf. Pilaf is sort of like spiced/seasoned rice (although I used quinoa) that’s good for stuffing or as a side dish. To jazz up the pilaf, you stir in some feta and top with sliced tomatoes when baking in the eggplant; Moosewood calls it “Mediterranean Style”.

The battle wound. 

            Pilaf is incredibly simple and quick to make, especially if you don’t have to wait for the rice (or quinoa). Though I did find it to be a slightly dangerous recipe. In Medieval times, you weren’t a real knight until you’d bled on your sword. With that logic in mind, I am now a real cook. Of course, knights probably weren’t frantically washing their knives and obsessing over whether or not blood got on the onions. Also their biggest problem most likely wasn’t that it’s really hard to type with gauze all over your finger.

            You’re supposed to cut and bake the eggplant before stuffing and re-baking it. This means you can scoop out the insides and add it to the pilaf. I found it quite difficult to do the scooping bit. This was possibly because I didn’t let it cook all the way through—Moosewood recommends 20-30 mins and I did closer to 20. I like when there’s still a layer of innards attached to the skin (can you tell I watch crime shows while I cook?) so I did minimal scooping.

            The final result is an incredibly tender, melts-in-your-mouth dinner that’s absolutely packed with protein and deliciousness. My only critique is that it’s a little one-note. The eggplant soaks up the seasonings from the pilaf, which adds to the richness of the dish, but this leads to a slightly monotonous dinner. It would be better with a complementary side or maybe even a sauce of some kind. For the other variation, Moosewood recommends its Red Pepper Puree, and I imagine it would probably still be good on this one. It just needs a little something extra

YUM! 

Side note: by making this variation of stuffed eggplant, instead of the other, I get to check off a recipe and get a pass on a cottage cheese recipe. That’s 3 out of 11!