Stuffed Eggplant with Feta- Imam Bayildi
Serves 8
Ingredients
4 medium eggplants or zucchini
Salt
4 Tb. olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tb. chopped thyme
2 tsp. oregano
2 Tb. chopped dill
Salt and pepper, to taste
juice of one lemon
3 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped
8 oz. feta cheese
Procedure
- Lightly oil a baking dish to hold 8 eggplant halves. Halve the eggplants and score the pulp with a sharp knife not piercing the skin. With a sharp spoon scoop out the pulp leaving ½ inch thick shells. Chop the reserved pulp and set aside.
- Heat the oven to 450. Brush the eggplant shells with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set on a baking sheet and bake until tender about 10 minutes.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat add 3 Tb. of the olive oil and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the chopped eggplant and garlic and sauté for about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the thyme, oregano, dill, salt, pepper, lemon juice, tomatoes, walnuts and parsley and mix well.
- Lower the heat in the oven to 350. Fill each half of eggplant with the filling and mound it gently. Place in the baking dish and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Bake for 20 minutes until the feta is golden.
- Serve warm or room temperature. Cut in half before serving.
