Cooking with diabetes

Mediterranean dish unites eggplant, beef

This eggplant dish's roots can be traced to Greece, but the flavors here are decidedly Italian.

Meat-Stuffed Eggplant

6 small eggplants, about 2 pounds total

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided use

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 pound lean ground beef

1/3 cup dry white wine such as pinot grigio

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided use

2 cups cubed day-old country bread

3/4 cup 2 percent milk

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Ground black pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and scoop out flesh, leaving a 1/2- to 1-inch-thick shell. Finely chop the scooped out portion. Set eggplant halves aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and chopped eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are beginning to soften. Crumble in the beef and pour the wine over the beef. Cook, breaking the beef up into small crumbles, until beef releases its liquid, about 6 minutes.

Season with half of the salt, cover, and cook 10 minutes more or until vegetables are tender and beef is cooked through. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Place the cubed bread in a separate bowl and pour the milk over the bread. Once the bread has softened, squeeze out any excess milk and add the bread to the bowl with the meat and vegetable mixture.

Add the grated cheese, parsley and tomatoes and mix well.

Place the eggplant halves in a large baking dish. Drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and season with the remaining salt and ground black pepper to taste. Toss well to coat.

Fill the eggplant halves with meat-vegetable mixture and arrange snugly in the baking dish.

Cover with foil and bake 40 to 45 minutes or until eggplant is tender. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes more or until top is browned and crispy.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 450 calories, 22 g protein, 27 g fat, 28 g carbohydrate, 62 mg cholesterol, 627 mg sodium and 6 g fiber.

Carbohydrate choices: 2.

Recipe adapted from Lidia's Italy in America by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali

Food on 07/30/2014

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