Delectables with Dan: Danny's Baked Stuffed Eggplant

I'm really looking forward to the tastes of spring and summer here on Delectables with Dan. I've begun exploring new dishes that I'm gonna fill the summer nights with and today's blog is to showcase one of these flavour packed dishes. I found the recipe on the internet and modified it and I think it came out amazing. Its an eggplant stuffed with tomatoes, red & green lentils, garlic and a sprinkling of breadcrumbs. I paired it with some seasoned summer squash, olives, red cabbage, spinach & tangerines. 

This recipe serves 4 people with sides!

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants (the thiccer the better)

2-3 tablespoons olive oil 

2-3 tablespoons olive oil (separate)

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely sliced

1 1/ tins Italian style petite diced tomatoes 

1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper 

1-2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2c dried red lentils

1/2c dried green lentils 

1 tablespoon oregano 

1 tablespoon basil

**you can use any lentils that you wish, these are just the ones that I had

Cook Temp: 190C (350F) Cook Time: 45 Minutes to 1 Hour
Cook time depends on the size of the eggplants in question. You want to bake them until they are soft and are easily sliced through with a fork.

Because we are using dried lentils, you want to cook them first. Add both types of lentils into a small saucepan, cover them with water and allow them to cook on a low boil for 20-30 minutes. You want the lentils to be fully cooked, but still, a teeny bit firm as you're going to be baking them in liquid and you don't want them to turn into complete mush! You're really walking a fine line with this one. While the lentils are cooking, you're going to wash your eggplant and cut the little top had off of them. Once you've done that, taking a bread knife or a chef's knife, it really depends on preference I think, to slice down the centre of the eggplants. Try your best to make them the same thickness that way they cook evenly when you put them in the oven. After slicing down the centre of the eggplants with a paring knife or another small knife, you're going to want to score the surface, making a criss-cross pattern. I love the aesthetic of this, but it also helps with the cooking of the filling.
You'll still have more time to kill before the lentils are done cooking so you're going to move on to the next step of the recipe! In a large, deep skillet or frying pan, and yes, it has to be deep, pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil (you may need that one extra tablespoon depending on your pan) and heat over medium heat. I threw in a pinch of salt just for added taste, but that's totally up to you. Make sure that the bottom of the pan is covered with the olive oil. Cook all of the eggplants with the criss-cross pattern down. Allow them to fry for 5-10 minutes. They will become a nice golden brown. Don't worry if you're pan is too small to fit all the eggplants, just do them in two batches making sure that all the eggplant halves are evenly browned.

You're going to need a baking dish to hold all of the eggplant halves. Once the eggplant is browned, transfer to the baking dish and set to the side. The lentils will be down by now. If they finished cooking before you finished frying the eggplant (they really should have) you should have removed them from the heat. No one wants overcooked shit, well maybe people with no tastebuds. In the same pan that you fried the eggplant, add the second portion of olive oil, diced onion, garlic, Italian seasonings, I like to start out at a low heat and move the temperature up slowly. Make sure that the onion and garlic have cooked well, they should be soft and a nice golden colour. Add in the tinned tomatoes. and lentils. Give them a nice stir over medium heat. You want to be careful that you don't burn the tomato mixture. You want to give it some time to season up. Let the mixture cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken up nicely. While stirring add in the black pepper.
Now that the mixture has thickened up, you're going to take a large serving spoon or just tip the pan and use a rubber scraper if you're lazy like I am, and spread the tomato-lentil mixture over the eggplant halves evenly. Don't worry if some of it pours over the sides of the eggplants. Just more tastiness on the outside to enjoy! Make sure that the eggplant is well coated with the mixture before putting it in the oven to bake.

While the eggplant is cooking, prep your sides. Wash your cabbage, squash and red cabbage. I like to get the pre-shredded red cabbage from the market, it's so much easier to work with. Cook your squash any way you'd like. I like to just boil it and use some-you guys are going to fin this funny-grill mate seasoning on it to punch up the flavour. I didn't really do anything with the red cabbage except remove it from the bag and give it an extra rinse. I just eat it plain, as is. Maybe that's strange, I really don't know. Do what you want with your cabbage. The same with the spinach; quick wash, no dressing nothing fancy with this. I just peeled a tangerine and plopped them down for an added splash of colour. 
Once the eggplant is done, remove it and plate with your sides, top with a dash more seasonings if you want like me and boom! There you have a tasty and healthy meal. Maybe the Diet Coke makes it less healthy, depends on who you ask, but it's practically a food group of its own around my place.

I've got a few other Delectables with Dan blogs lined up featuring a variety of dishes that will fill you up without leaving you feeling guilty!
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Personal/Author: @darkdreamingdaniel

Delectables with Dan: @dandelectables

Photography: @dannysnapsphotos