This summer I had some girl friends over for an end of summer vegan dinner party. I wanted to make something special and I decided on stuffed eggplant. Many people have tried stuffed peppers, but few have had stuffed eggplant, let alone delicious succulent Greek stuffed eggplant.
When I was traveling around the world I fell in love with rustic Greek cuisine. It’s nothing like you find in North America and it’s not all about souvlaki and rack of lamb. Many classic Greek dishes are vegan or vegetarian in nature, so it was a pleasant surprise to find delicious homemade dishes at local tavernas. These are called Melitzanes Papoutsakia or “Little Shoes”. They are often served luke warm or room temperature as is customary in Greece. They believe that room temperature food is the best for health and this may be why their mezze platters are so popular, where a variety of items can be eaten together at the same temperature.
This is my vegan spin on Greek Little Shoes and you can find it with and without rice. Since this was a main entree I decided to add rice to it and I had some delicious pre cooked brown rice from Hinode in the cupboard so this was pretty easy to throw together.
I have found that it makes a difference in cooking time to precook the eggplant before baking and this way the flesh can soften without having to be cooked with oil. It’s got all the flavor you need by adding fresh herbs without any of the fat.
I served this with salad and my Tuscan Roasted Tomato Chickpea Soup that’s featured in my Comfort Soups To Keep You Warm recipe ebook.
Greek Stuffed Eggplant (Little Shoes)
Serves 8
Ingredients:
4 medium eggplants/aubergine
1 cup vegetable broth (low sodium or homemade)
1 large red onion, diced small
5 large cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups of fresh tomatoes, diced small
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (I used Hinode)
3 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp fresh oregano or 1 1/2 tsp dried
1/2 cup of fresh dill or parsley, chopped
2 -3 tsp of honey/maple syrup or pureed dates
1/2 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper
olive oil for greasing pan and sprinkling on eggplant
Directions:
Step #1: Cut tops off of eggplant and slice in half. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and boil eggplant skin side down for 15 minutes. Depending on how large your pot mouth is and your eggplant you may have to boil 4 halves at a time.
Step #2: Once done, take out eggplant and set aside to cool before handling.
Step #3: Preheat oven to 350 F/177 C. Scoop eggplant out of shell carefully and leave a small layer of flesh inside to prevent skin from tearing.
Step #4: Heat a large wok or frying pan over medium heat and add the vegetable broth. Add the onions and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomatoes and sauté for 5 minutes.
Step #5: Cut the chunks of eggplant into smaller pieces or mash them. Add to tomatoes and onions and continue cooking.
Step #6: Meanwhile, chop the dill or parsley into small pieces.
Step #7: Add cooked rice, dill/parsley, oregano, lemon juice and salt and pepper to eggplant and tomatoes. If your tomatoes are a little acidic, add honey or sweetener to balance the taste as desired.
Step #8: Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and place the eggplant shells skin side down. Fill with tomato eggplant mixture evenly.
Bake eggplant in oven until heated through, about 20 minutes.
Serve warm with salad, potatoes, or pita and hummus.
Have you ever had eggplant before? What’s your favorite eggplant recipe?
My favorite eggplant recipes are ratatouille and caponata but this looks interesting. I make ratatouille regularly and serve it over pasta or “fried” polenta. Leftovers freeze beautifully.
I used to love eggplant but ever since I got violently sick from eating Japanese eggplant from a Chinese restaurant a few years ago, I get nauseous just thinking about it. It is the same if I smell it. That how I stopped eating eggs. dairy and meat products which I cannot stomach along with other toxic smells like cugarette smoke and alcohol. What I seem to tolerate the best is dried or raw veggies, nuts and berries along with rice, almond milk and non gluten products . I so wish my system would tolerate more foods.
OMG, I’ve never seen this before — can’t wait to try it!!! Looks amazing — thank you!
I don’t cook ice very well. Could I substitute quinoa for it, as your cooking method for quinoa is terrific!
You definitely could use quinoa in just about ay recipe where rice is called for. It hold its c constitution really well and cooks slightly quicker but doesn’t go to mush when cooked longer.
I’m Greek and I make these at least twice a month…I don’t boil the eggplant though and I don’t use honey or maple syrup. I cut the eggplant in 1/2 and roast it in the oven. I scoop out the “guts” as my 8 year old likes to call it…dice and add the dice roasted eggplant to the mixture of sauteed onion, garlic, tomatoe and spices. It’s a very earthy, comforting meal. The papoutsakia taste great hot, room temperature and in the summer they are great cold. Using small eggplants (2 bite maximum), these make great appetizers 🙂 Enjoy.
Our tomatoes are not very sweet here, especially canned tomatoes so I use some sweetness to balance out the acid and tart flavor.
Sounds amazing!
Hi Veronica, Just made this eggplant recipe tonight. It was great. I love eggplant so much that I grow my own in the summer. Thanks for the wonderful creations you share with so many of us who are trying to improve our diets.
I have been eating eggplant for the last thirty plus years. My grandmother was from the Middle East and that was a regular part of her diet. My 92 year old mother is healthy as a horse and more active than anyone her age. There are so many benefits to correctly, especially with today’s food supply so suspect. I like the ingredients in this recipe and will definitely give this dish a try.
Would you say a 350 oven or less for heating thru?
I simply repeat … its Great .
…
My Ingredients and my Colours !
The Eyes eat Together !
Teresa ***
Positive ++++
—– Gold
hi veronica have you got a recipe for some one with diabetes. cheers peter.
Hi Peter! Veronica is on vacation for a few more days. I will ask her if she has any suggestions for you when she returns. Thank-you for your interest, I am sure you will find quite a few healthy options here that will fit your requirements! Jody
Most of my recipes are suitable for those with diabetes if they are following a lower fat oil free regimen. You can of course omit any sweeteners from the recipes as well. Type 2 diabetes can be reversed with a proper whole foods diet that is low in fat (that means no oils!), type 1 diabetes can be managed and insulin use reduced. Check out the book Reversing Diabetes by Dr Neal Barnard, also Dr. Joel Fuhrman is coming out with a new book about it as well I believe.
Please let me know how many calories does it have? Thank you
I have just learned to love eggplant in the last few years! This dish looks delicious! A couple of my favorites are Ratatouille and Baba Ghanoush.
It might be GREAT ! I love all these Ingredients !
And Interesting … Room Temperature !
I will learn it ! And will gain a lot out of it !
Thank You Veronica !
Lace