One of the things I heard most often from Growing Home graduates was how the experience of farming engendered a love for fresh vegetables, especially organic produce, and jumpstarted an interest in cooking. Fred Daniels was in the 2010 cohort and is now the site manager at the Wood Street farm. He created this recipe for eggplant, one of Growing Home’s superb crops.
Ingredients
Eggplant, Italian variety
Tomato Sauce seasoned with Basil
- either homemade, using Growing Home fresh tomatoes, or your favorite store-bought brand
Garlic powder or crushed fresh garlic
Grated Parmesan
Mozzarella
One or two eggs
Italian sausage, crumbled and sautéed (I used four ounces of sausage to each pound of eggplant)
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Pre-heat your oven to 350°. Split the eggplant in half and roast until the flesh is soft, around 45 minutes.
Scoop out the eggplant, reserving the skin, chop the flesh and put it in a bowl. Mix in one or two eggs, the cooked sausage, Parmesan cheese and moisten with tomato-basil sauce. Season to taste with garlic, salt and pepper.
Stuff the eggplant mixture back into the shell halves, add more sauce if desired.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until the mixture is hot and bubbly, top with mozzarella cheese and put the eggplant back in the oven, just until the cheese melts.
As an eggplant fanatic, I love the sound of this recipe – and its origins in a Growing Home grad! Can’t wait to try.