Ode to a 2 Pound Eggplant

In the CSA this week, there was a 2 pound eggplant.  I don’t think I have ever seen an eggplant this big.  Matt was supposed to make eggplant parmigiana yesterday but ended up being caught at work.  Thinking back a few months, we made a recipe by Hungry Girl – Supremely Stuffed Pizza-fied Eggplant.  Very loosely following that recipe, I made my “Ode to a 2 pound Eggplant”

Ingredients:

• 2 pound eggplant
• 3 bell peppers (1 red, 1 orange, 1 yellow)
• 4 small onions (1 red, 3 yellow)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
• 3 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (the kind from a jar)
• 1 cup dried lentils (cook according to package directions)
• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• leftover pizza sauce (about 1/2 a jar)
• Parmesan cheese (good handful)
• 1/2 a lb of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste

Directions: 

Peel and cube the eggplant into 1/2 inch cubes.  Dice peppers and onions.  Cook in large non-stick skillet for about 10 minutes or until soft. 

Add cooked vegetables to a large bowl.  Mix in lentils, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, garlic, parmesan cheese, pizza sauce and garlic.  Stir until combined.  Taste and season accordingly – I added a little salt. 

Pour into 9×13 baking dish and top with mozzarella cheese. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted.  

Because I snacked my afternoon away wasn’t too hungry, I didn’t need anything else with it

This was a great dish – and use of my 2 lb eggplant.  The flavors blended really well together – Matt said to use Soy Crumbles next time for a better texture, but otherwise he was pleased with the dish. 

I was also really pleased with this dish because it cleared out some items in my fridge – and made enough for probably close to 2 more meals!

Matt and I are attempting to catch up on some Real Housewives of NJ – a guilty pleasure of ours…