This is my maiden blog post in June.
Goodbye May, welcome Ramadan and hello delicious food. ✌️
First things first, I would like to wish all my Muslim readers a very happy Ramadan. May this month bring you and your family good health and the utmost in peace and prosperity.
I might have mentioned this before, but I absolutely love Ramadan. ❤️
There is serenity in the air during Ramadan. There is sweetness in the first bite of food and there is an extra bond among family members during this time of the year as all of us would sit down to have our meals together. It is truly a magical month. *Sprinkles glitter dust*
For those of you who are not sure as to what Ramadan is, It is actually the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. During this month, Muslims worldwide observe a month of fasting and this annual observance is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam. You can learn more about Ramadan, here.
For the next succeeding 20 odd days, my alarm clock would be ringing out at odd hours. It can be 4 am or even 5 am. If it is some other month, I can’t think of me waking up just to have food. During Ramadan, it can happen though.
Although Ramadan is a time for us to understand the pain of those unprivileged ones, yet Ramadan is also when food is being sold in abundance all over here in Singapore. Infact, it is the same for countries like Malaysia and Indonesia too.
There are many delicious festive foods sold in the bazaars/markets and this is also one of the main attractions of Ramadan. I on the other hand, have been trying to cook more instead of buying, as more often than not, we tend up to purchase more food than we can consume and I wanted to discard that bad habit. Today we had these for Iftar (Read: the meal at sunset that breaks the fast.) ↓
I am obsessed with eggplants, especially when roasted. These stuffed eggplants were the bomb. Eggplant halves were roasted to bring out it’s natural sugars. It is then topped with tangy tomato sauce and finally, some cheese to end it all. DELICIOUS and you can’t go wrong with this one. Although I added some beef in the tomato sauce, you can omit it for a vegetarian version.
This Delicious Stuffed Eggplant is pretty healthy too! If I can have it my way, I shall eat this amazing grilled eggplant covered in melted cheese for the whole of Ramadan and I am serious about that. This eggplant not only makes a satisfying and easy dinner but also has a very pretty presentation for visiting guests as anything that looks like a boat, is a sure winner on the plate. ????
Delicious Stuffed Eggplant
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This Delicious Stuffed Eggplant makes a satisfying and easy dinner and it also makes a very pretty presentation for visiting guests.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 250g ground beef (Use mushrooms for a vegetarian option)
- 1 onion, small diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 can of chopped/diced tomatoes (411g)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped basil or parsley
- 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170°C.
- Cut the eggplants into halves and season with salt, black pepper and 1 tbsp of olive oil.
- Roast for about 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the eggplant.
- Meanwhile, in a medium saute pan heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.
- Saute the onion, pepper and garlic for 2 minutes.
- Add the ground beef to the pan and saute until the beef begins to brown slightly.
- Pour in the chopped tomatoes and herbs.
- Season with salt, black pepper and ¼ tsp of Italian seasoning and cook till the sauce is thick.
- Once the eggplant is cooked, top with some sauce and a handful of cheese.
- Grill till the cheese melts.
- Serve hot.
Could you please tell me on what temperature you roast the eggplant as well as the ounces of tomatoes needed (the size of the car)? I would love to try this recipe.
Hi Connie. It’s 170°C. As for tomatoes, it’s 411g per can. It’s the 14 oz can. Hope this helps! 🙂
How much ground beef do you use
Hi Ann. I used 250 grams but it is really up to you. Feel free to use more if you like it really meaty. 🙂
What to serve with this scrumptious meal?
Hi Allean. I would normally eat these as a meal itself and pretend that I am eating lasagna. Not that it is that difficult to convince myself as this is really delicious! If you wanna add more bulk to your meal, a soup by the side would be delicious. These would be good with toasted crusty bread too, rubbed with some garlic perhaps? 🙂
What is 250gm of ground beef in lbs
Also temperature of oven and do I hollow out eggplant to stuff it?
That would be about 1/2 pound of ground beef. You can use more if you like it more meaty. Oven temperature would be 170°C and no, you do not have to hollow out the eggplant as once it it baked, the eggplant is all soft in the center and it sinks for quite a bit.
When roasting the eggplant; do you set it meat side down or outside skin side down on the cookie sheet?
Hi Becky. It’s skin side down. So the fleshy meat lies on top. 🙂
I had a hard time getting the eggplant done. Is there a trick to cooking it.
Eggplants are general fast and easy to cook. Try using smaller ones for a start? 🙂
I cooked this last night for myself and my partner and we both loved it! It’s the classic eggplant, tomato sauce, cheese combination but so very quick and easy to make. Definitely saving this one to my Favourite Recipe board and cooking again. Thanks so much for sharing this yummy recipe, Maya.
★★★★★
I love this recipe too! I’m glad it worked out for you. 🙂
I made this again last night and have now given the recipe to my mother. Both times I used half and half ground beef and mushrooms rather than one or the other. This time I doubled the recipe so we are having it for dinner again tonight. So yummy!!