destinoms:

Stuffed Pesto Eggplant

Ingredients:

Eggplant (2 or 4 depending on size)
Mushrooms
Red, orange, or yellow pepper
Garlic
Olive Oil
Ginger
Rosemary
Basil
Balsamic vinegar

Pesto ingredients: (we ran out of fresh basil, so we used store bought, but home made is better)

Basil
Nutritional yeast
Pine or other nuts
Olive Oil
Lemon juice


Cut eggplant in half lengthwise; remove pulp, leaving a 1/4-in.-thick shell. Cube pulp; set shells and pulp aside.

In a large nonstick skillet coated with olive oil, saute onion and garlic until onion is tender.
Add the mushrooms, pepper, and eggplant pulp;
saute for 4-6 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.

(We cooked these separately because we didn’t have a big enough pot for all of them, which worked well because we layered the veggies in the eggplant shells.

If you do them separately, you can spice them separately as well! We did:

Peppers - just olive oil

Eggplant - olive oil, ginger, lots of garlic

Mushrooms - olive oil, garlic, basil, balsamic vinegar)

Separately:
In food processor, blend 2 cups basil, 2 cloves garlic, nutritional yeast, nuts, and olive oil.

Divide vegetables evenly between the eggplant shells; top with pesto and/or tomato sauce.
Place on a baking sheet.
Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until shells are tender.