It’s apparently the summer of the eggplant. I feel like they’ve shown up in more than half of my Greensgrow Farm CSA shares this season and I long ran out of patience to deal with them. The greatest success (until now) of my aubergine summer was a killer baba ganoush, some of which is still on reserve in the freezer. When I brought these beautiful graffiti eggplants (Flaim Farms | Vineland, NJ) home, I knew I had to think fast to enjoy them before we left town for the weekend.

With little time to spare, I decided to recreate a dish I made last summer but had failed to record the recipe. I did a quick search for a “shrimp stuffed aubergine” and was pleased to see my Flickr pic of the 2010 creation come up on page 1 of the search! That was a start, but I needed more info on what recipe I built it from. It didn’t take me long to dig up this sad recipe… and my tweaks came flooding back to my memory. Seeing that I rarely make the same thing the exact same way twice, I got right to work on making this dish even better… and writing the recipe this time for you to enjoy, too! This dish is so savory, easy to prepare, and offers a beautiful presentation.

Check out my Shrimp Stuffed Aubergine (Eggplant) recipe after the jump!

Shrimp Stuffed Aubergine (Eggplant)

Serves 2

Equipment

• rimmed baking dish or sheet pan
• 10-12″ saute pan
• grapefruit spoon (one of my top 5 kitchen tools)
• foil

1. Preheat oven to 375degrees.
2. Line baking dish or sheet pan w. foil.

Eggplant Prep

• 2 small eggplant – approx. .5-.75lbs each or 1 large 1-1.5 lb eggplant
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• S&P

1. Wash and dry eggplant. Place on counter so they lay flat. Turn eggplant a quarter turn and cut lengthwise.
2. Using grapefruit spoon, perforate a border 1/4 inch around edge of each eggplant half.
3. Scoop out flesh of each eggplant half, coarsely chop flesh, and set aside.
4. Pour all of olive oil in first eggplant half. Swirl to coat entire inside. Dump extra oil into next half and repeat until all halves are oiled.
5. Season inside of each eggplant half w. S&P. Set aside.

Shrimp Stuffing

• 1/2lb of shrimp – raw, shelled, & deveined
• 1 medium shallot – minced
• 4 cloves of garlic – minced
• 1 Thai red chili pepper (optional) – minced
• olive oil
• eggplant flesh
• 1/2cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil + other fresh herbs (I used thyme + marjoram)
• 1/4 cup fresh shredded parmesan or reggiano
• 1cup + 3/4cup panko bread crumbs
• 1T unsalted butter

1. Heat saute pan over medium heat and coat bottom with olive oil.
2. Once oil is glistening, add shallot. Stir frequently to avoid browning until shallot is transparent, approx. 5 min.
3. Add garlic and saute for approx. 2 min, stirring frequently.
4. Add red chili pepper and eggplant. Saute for approx. 5 min until heated through.
5. Add shrimp, tossing frequently, and cook until partially pink, approx. 3 min.
6. Add chicken stock and bring to a quick boil.
7. Remove from heat and stir in 1cup of panko bread crumbs, fresh herbs, and cheese.
8. Divide and spoon mixture among eggplant halves.
9. Melt 1T of butter in microwave save dish, approx. 30 seconds. Add 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs and combine.
10. Divide and top each stuffed eggplant half w. butter + bread crumb mixture.
11. Bake for 10-15min until golden brown.
12. Serve immediately w. a green salad as a complete meal.

Feel free to lessen the bread crumbs to reduce the carbohydrate content and add any veggies of your choosing to bulk it up – tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers, & spinach would all go great in this dish!