Stuffed Eggplant

Ingredients

1 medium to large eggplant
1/2 ground pork sausage (hamburger works well too) optional***
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic
chopped fresh parsley to taste
chopped fresh basil to taste
1 1/4 cups of shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tomato chopped optional***

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the egg plant in half lengthwise. Scoop out the center, leaving enough meat inside the skin so that it holds its shape when baked. Set aside the scooped-out center.

In a large sauté pan, cook the pork sausage until cooked all the way through. Salt and pepper. Scrape out sausage into a bowl and set aside. Return the pan to the stove with brown bits from sausage. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add in the scooped-out center of the eggplant, pepper and the onion. Cook until the onions and peppers have softened. Add garlic, salt and pepper. Stir for 1 more minute. Add the cooked sausage back in and cook for another 2 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the cooked eggplant mixture, fresh basil and parsley, egg, 1 cup of the shredded cheese, and 1/4 cup of the breadcrumbs. Lightly mix. Fill the scooped-out eggplant halves with this mixture, dividing it evenly between the two halves.

Top with chopped tomatoes, the remaining 1/4 cup cheese, the remaining breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper. Place the eggplant halves on an oiled baking dish and bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Slice and serve.