Paul Prudhomme's Sausage Stuffed Eggplant, from Chef Paul Prodhomme's Louisiana Kitchen
Preheat oven to 400. Cook
3 12-14oz eggplants
in chicken stock in large pot. Boil 15-20 min till done. Or microwave about 15 min.
While they're cooking, chop and divide into batches
2c onion (1c, 1/2c, 1/2c),
1.5c green pepper (1c, 1/2c),
1c celery (1/2c, 1/2 c),
and prep the two seasoning mixes below. Get 4qt and 2qt saucepan ready, and other ingredients (margarine, sausage, garlic, olive oil, flour, Tabasco, tomato sauce) ready. If there's time, go ahead and make the sauce as well -- you might as well be doing something.
Drain eggplants; reserve 5c stock. Cool eggplants and scrape out pulp.
Seasoning mix 1:
3 bay leaves
1.5t dried basil
1.25t cayenne
1t white pepper
3/4t thyme
1/8t nutmeg
1t black pepper
Seasoning mix 2:
1 t salt
1/2t white pepper
1/2t garlic powder
1/2t cayenne
1/2t basil
1/2t thyme
Eggplant 'stuffing'
Melt, in a 4qt saucepan
1 stick margarine
over high heat. Add
1 c chopped onions
1 c chopped bell peppers
1/2c chopped celery
Saute 1 min. Add
all but 3" from one lb sausage
first seasoning mix
Cook 5 min, breaking up sausage. Add
1T minced garlic
Cook about 5 more min, until it's sticking excessively. Add
1c reserved stock
Cook 8-10 more min, until sticking again. Stir in
1/2c more chopped onions
1/2c chopped peppers
1/2c chopped celery
Cook 2 more min, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add
Reserved eggplant pulp
chopping it up as you stir it in. Let sit a few minutes, scrape pan bottom, and return to low heat. Cover and simmer 10 min, stirring freq. Add
1 c more stock
and cook uncovered for 15 min, stirring often. Remove from heat.
Place eggplant mixture in an ungreased 13x9 baking dish. Add
1 c breadcrumbs
and mix thoroughly. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Stir well, and bake 20 min more. Or 30 min. It takes about 55 min to make the red sauce below, so if you didn't get started earlier, you'll have a little extra time on your hands.
Red Sauce
In a 2qt saucepan, heat
2T olive oil
over high heat, about 2 min, until hot. Whisk in
2T flour
and make a roux, medium brown. Remove from heat and immediately add
the last 3" of sausage
1/2c chopped onions
Return to high heat, and cook 1 min, stirring constantly. Add
second seasoning mix
1.5t chopped garlic
1t Tabasco
1.5c tomato sauce
Cook until thick and sticking, about 8 min, stir often. Add
last 3 c of stock
Cover and boil; remove cover and simmer to reduce to 3c, about 45 min.
Prudhomme recommends scooping the stuffing into eggplant half-shells and ladling some sauce over them. I don't have time for that sort of fussiness, so I go with just slopping it on the plate. Still tastes pretty darned good.