My dad worked 6 days a week, many nights coming home after we already had dinner. He was a cabinet maker and had his own shop, he did not work by the clock. As a kid, I loved going to the shop because there was that wonderful scent of freshly sawed wood, and I remember looking at the sawdust that covered my dads’ beautiful long eyelashes. Sundays were special. Sundays my dad was always cleaned up and my mom would make a special lunch, a roasted chicken or baked macaroni, once in a while a roast beef. Then sometimes she would make baked stuffed eggplant and roasted potato – Maltese Style – the way her mom taught her. I remember not eating the eggplant, just the stuffing. Today I eat it all and it is one of my favorite dishes. Here is my moms’ recipe:
Baked Stuffed Eggplant – Maltese Style
oven 400
1 large eggplant
Olive Oil
1 lb ground beef
Salt/Pepper
1 small onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2c freshly chopped parsley
1 1/4 c grated cheese
1 large egg
Cut the eggplant in half and scoop out and diced up the center, leaving enough meat inside the skin to hold its shape. In a large frying pan, crumble , saute and lightly brown the ground beef in olive oil, season with S/P to taste. Drain beef and put in large bowl. Saute garlic and onions and chopped eggplant . S/P in fresh olive oil until soft. Mix with cooked beef in the large bowl. Add parsley, cheese and beaten egg and mix together.
Fill the scooped-out eggplant halves with mixture evenly.
My mom always lined a baking pan with sliced potatoes , oiled and seasoned and placed the eggplant halves on top – Bake for 50-60 minutes. Slice . Serves 4-6.
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