Barley-Vegetable Stuffed Eggplant

I haven't been blogging much, as we've have family in town, and I haven't done too much cooking. One night we didn't have plans with everyone, and I decided I wanted to make a "me" kind of dish. I had an eggplant that needed a purpose and I chose to stuff it, using some veggies I had on hand, along with a very small amount of leftover barley that's been just hanging around. I kept it meatless, but I think it also would be good with ground chicken/turkey, or some type of sausage.

I originally tried to find a recipe to follow, but couldn't find any one that I loved, so I just came up with my own, piecing together different ingredients and techniques from a handful of different ones. I was happy with how it came together- healthy, filling and delicious. Since Sage and his father were also having grilled chicken, I served them each half a stuffed eggplant, and had a whole one for myself along with salad. I should note that with this preparation, the shell of the eggplant was just for presentation, as it is too tough to eat, so make sure to carefully remove as much of the insides as possible, while still leaving the skin intact.

1/3 cup regular pearl barley
1 cup vegetable stock
1 medium eggplant
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 oz. button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
4 cups loosely packed baby spinach
1 roma tomato, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan

Bring barley and stock to a boil in a small saucepan. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes or until barley is tender and water is mostly absorbed. Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350. Slice eggplant in half, and drizzle cut sides with olive oil. Brush or rub to coat. Lay eggplant halves, cut side down in a baking dish, and bake for 25 minutes or until eggplants are tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

When eggplant is cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh, leaving a scant 1/4 inch thick shell. Transfer the scooped out eggplant to a cutting board and coarsely chopped. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Set aside. Return eggplant shells, skin side down, to baking dish.

Heat a skillet with 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add pepper and onions with salt and pepper and saute for 5 minutes. Add chopped eggplant and cook for 5 minutes more. Add garlic, mushrooms and tomatoes and continue to cook for 3 more minutes.

Add barley and spinach to skillet mixture and stir to combine. Cover and turn off heat. Let sit for a few minutes to wilt spinach a little.

Spoon skillet mixture into eggplant shells, and top each one with half of the cheese. Bake for 12 minutes.

Roasted Eggplant and Mushroom Ragu

When it comes to Italian pasta sauces, I still haven't figured out the differences between them all, so please excuse me if I've incorrectly named this one. I believe Ragus typically are a meat based sauce, but there sure are plenty recipes for eggplant and other vegetable ragus. If I'd followed a recipe, I'd just call this whatever they did, but since I couldn't find the one I wanted to use, I just went on my own. Regardless of what it should be called, it was wonderful.

This was a highly flavorful sauce and quite hearty for being meatless. You know you've created a successful meal when your husband tells you multiple times during eating how delicious it is. And since its loaded with veggies, pretty good for you too. I served this over a high protein multigrain farfalle, but really any pasta will do. (I just have always liked farfalle and am happy that I've begun finding whole wheat and multigrain varieties lately.)

serves 4-5
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2 in. cubes
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
1 (8 oz.) package sliced cremini mushrooms
1 (14.5 oz.) can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1/3 cup dry red wine (I used a Petite Sirah)
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1 bay leaf
crush red pepper, to taste
1 (14.5 oz.) box multigrain farfalle, or pasta of choice
fresh grated parmesan, for serving

Preheat oven to 400. Arrange eggplant on roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 3 tbsps of olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes, shaking pan occasionally. Set aside.

Heat remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic and onion. Season with salt and pepper, and saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms, and saute for another 5 minutes.

Add roasted eggplant to sauteed vegetables, using a wooden spoon to scraped up any browned bits. Add tomatoes, paste, sauce, wine, basil, bay leaf and red pepper and stir to combine. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for 30 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Remove and discard bay leaf from sauce and serve over top of cooked pasta with grated parmesan.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Saturday afternoon I was in a bit of a funk for no particular reason. Which was odd, because the weather was fabulous and actually fall-like, we were getting together in the evening with some of our best friends and I went grocery shopping, which to me is never a chore, but a fun activity. I knew the best way to improve my mood was to spend some time in my kitchen, and of course I was right. Almost instantly I was feeling better.

I was craving some kind of comfort food and eggplant parmesan sounded perfect. Despite it being a favorite dish of mine, I'd never actually tried making it at home before, but I was pretty sure I could do it without following a recipe. I was very happy with how it came out.

I rarely use store bought sauce ever since a friend showed me a few years back how easy it is to make your own. I always make it a little different, depending on what I have on hand. This was the first time I actually wrote down what I used or measured out ingredients, and I'm glad I did because this one was definitely worth sharing. You could use another marinara recipe or even jarred sauce, but I believe the sauce was certainly a big part of why my first attempt at eggplant parm was such a success.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan (3 servings)
1 small to medium eggplant (1 lb.) unpeeled and cut into 1/2 in. rounds
kosher salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Italian style dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp shredded parmesan
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
cooking spray
2 1/2 cups of chunky marinara (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Salt and press eggplant by placing a layer of eggplant in collander. Top with salt. Repeat with all of the eggplant. Cover and weigh down, for an hour. One at a time, rinse salt off of slices and blot dry with paper towels. (This entire process can be omitted to save time, if desired.)

Prepare two shallow bowls for dredging, one with eggs, the other with breadcrumbs and parmesan. Dip an eggplant slice into the egg and allow excess to drip off. Dredge into breadcrumb and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese mixture. Place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat with all eggplant pieces. Bake for 10 minutes, flip and bake for 15 minutes.

Raise oven temperature to 400. Spread about 1/2 cup of marinara in the bottom of an 11 x 7 baking dish. Place a layer of eggplant over sauce. Top with another cup of sauce and sprinkle with half of the cheeses. Repeat with remaning eggplant, sauce and cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.

Chunky Marinara (makes 4 1/2 cups)
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregeno
1 tsp parsley
1 (15 oz.) can diced or whole tomatoes, pureed (or 1 can of of crushed tomatoes)
1 (15 oz.) can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz.) can of tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp red pepper (or to taste)
1/2 cup dry red wine (I used a Cabernet)

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Saute, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until soft but not browned. Add basil, oregano and parsley. Cook for another few minutes.

Add all of the remaining ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour. If not using the sauce is not being used right then, refrigerate or freeze.