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Baked Stuffed Eggplant

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Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian

Ingredients
  

  • 2 large eggplants
  • 1 1/3 lb ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup parsley
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  • 4 cloves garlic minced (divided)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 24 oz jar or your favorite marinara sauce
  • 1-2 T. olive oil

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Cut off the tops/stems of the eggplants. Slice them lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape out the majority of the insides to leave about 1/4-1/2 inch shell. Set the shells aside.
  • Place all the insides of the eggplant into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer this eggplant to a large bowl and mix together with the ground turkey, bread crumbs, parsley, parmesan, garlic and salt and pepper.
  • Set filling aside and heat 1-2 T. of olive oil and 2 cloves of minced garlic in a large skillet. Lightly sauté both sides of the large eggplant shells in oil one at a time for a few minutes per side. The edges and back of the eggplant should blister slightly and get a little bit soft.
  • Allow the eggplant shells to cool slightly so they can be easily handled. Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce in a saucepan until warmed nicely.
  • Pour a small amount of the heated sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 glass pan. (Just enough to lightly coat the bottom of the pan).
  • Once eggplant shells are cool enough to handle, stuff each one with the eggplant and ground turkey mixture. Place the shells face down in the prepared 13x9 pan.
  • Spoon the remainder of the sauce overtop of the eggplant and cover the dish with foil.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 60-90 minutes until tender and meat is cooked through. (165 degrees)

Notes

What to serve with it: This feels like a complete meal to me.  We usually serve this with a nice slice of sourdough bread, roll, or garlic bread.  If you are looking to round out the meal even more, a green salad would also go well with this.
Make Ahead Options: Since this is a bigger undertaking, I almost always make this during nap time and let it rest in the fridge for a bit before baking if I finish early.  However, since it bakes for so long in the oven, it's usually not long before it's time to bake it.  At least, if I have to go pick up one of my kids from school, I can leave it in the fridge and know it can go right in the oven when we get home so dinner is on time.