Stuffed Eggplant

Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Eggplant (Medium -sized) – 4 nos
Salt – 2 tsp (to apply on the eggplant)
Zucchini (Small) – 2 nos
Tomatoes (large) – 2 nos
Onion (large) – 1
Garlic – 2 cloves
Red bell pepper – 1
Parsley – 1/3 oz
Olive oil – 20 ml
Thyme (dry) – 1/2 tsp
Black peppercorns (crushed) – 1/2 tsp
Melted Butter – 20 ml.
Parmesan Cheese (grated) – 1 oz
Salt – to taste (for the stuffing)

For the garnish:
Tomatoes (small) – 1
Black olives – 4 nos

The accompaniments:
Green vegetables
Potatoes.

The preparations:
1. With a sharp knife cut the egg plant into half, lengthwise.
2. Sprinkle the halves with two tsp of salt and leave them to disgorge on kitchen paper towel for half an hour.
3. Wash and chop the zucchini.
4. Wash and chop the tomatoes after discarding the tops and the centers.
5. Peel, wash and chop the onion.
6. Peel, mash and crush the garlic.
7. Wash, remove seeds and chop red bell pepper.
8. Discard stems and finely chop parsley.
9. Wash and slice tomatoes for garnish
10. Wipe moisture from the eggplants with kitchen paper towel. Hollow out the centers with a spoon and chop them.

Method:
1. Heat oil over moderate heat in a large frying pan. Add onions and garlic and fry till the onion become light brown.
2. Add zucchini, bell pepper and chopped eggplant. Stirring occasionally, cook the mixture for five minutes.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and further cook for five minutes. Now add parsley, thyme and crushed black pepper corns.
4. Correct the seasoning, spoon the mixture into the eggplant wells.
5. Place the stuffed eggplant on a shallow ovenproof dish.
6. Pour the melted butter over the stuffed vegetables. Sprinkle with cheese and keep slices of tomatoes and black olives for garnishing.
7. Place the dish in the pre-heated oven to a temperature of 350º F. Bake until the vegetables are tender.
8. Remove the dish from the oven and serve immediately.