Stuffed Eggplants

Ingredients

• 700 ml classic vegetable broth
• 150 g whole grain rice
• 0.5 tsp dried thyme
• 1000 g eggplants (4 large)
• Salt
• 120 g small onions (3 small)
• 1 clove garlic
• 200 g yellow bell pepper (1 yellow)
• Pepper
• 125 g mozzarella
• 0.5 tsp dried sage
• 400 g diced tomatoes (canned)
• paprika powder (hot)
• 0.5 bunch Chives

Instructions

1. 1.

   Bring 400 ml vegetable broth to a boil in a pot. Add rice and thyme, bring back to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile wash, trim, and cut eggplants in half horizontally. With a knife mark a roughly 1.5 cm border around the cutting surface on each side.

3. 3.

   Use a melon baller to hollow out the eggplant halves up to the marked border, chopping the flesh finely with a large knife.

4. 4.

   Generously sprinkle salt over the eggplant halves and let them sit for 10–12 minutes to draw out water.

5. 5.

   Peel and dice onions finely; peel and mince garlic.

6. 6.

   Halve the bell pepper, deseed, wash, and cut into about 1 cm cubes. Add half of the diced onions to the rice mixture and cook for another 10 minutes.

7. 7.

   Pat the salted eggplant halves dry with paper towels and place them in a large shallow baking dish (about 3 L capacity).

8. 8.

   Drain mozzarella. Season the pepper‑rice mixture with salt and pepper, then fill the eggplant halves. Slice mozzarella thinly and arrange on top of the eggplants.

9. 9.

   In a bowl combine remaining onions, garlic, chopped eggplant flesh, sage, tomatoes, and the rest of the vegetable broth; spread around the stuffed eggplants in the baking dish.

10. 10.

    Season with salt, pepper, and paprika powder, then bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C (180 °C fan‑forced, gas: level 3) for about 35 minutes. Rinse chives, shake dry, cut into ribbons, and sprinkle over the finished stuffed eggplants before serving.