2 cups chopped tomatoes, heirloom if possible (yellow, green zebra, red)
3 sprigs oregano, small leaves left whole or larger leaves chopped
2-3 basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
⅓ -1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted in a small skillet over medium heat
Optional cheeses:
- Manchego, crumbled
- Pecorino Romano, grated
- Organic Feta, crumbled
- Fresh Chevre, crumbled
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil. Brush the cut sides of each eggplant with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and place each eggplant half cut side down on the lined baking sheet. Roast the eggplant until the cut side is golden brown, about 30-35 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven when the eggplant is done, but keep the oven on.
While the eggplant is baking, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over low heat and stir in the garlic, cinnamon, and smoked paprika about 30 seconds. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, oregano, basil, wine vinegar, and pine nuts. When the eggplant halves are out of the oven and have cooled off a bit, scoop out the cooked eggplant flesh and add to the tomato mixture. (I use a pastry cutter to make sure everything is nicely mixed.) Taste the stuffing mixture and season with a little more salt and pepper, if needed.
If you’d like this dish to be vegan, just stuff the eggplant shells with the stuffing. But if you enjoy cheese, choose one (or more) of the listed cheeses and add ½ cup to the stuffing mixture. Put each of the baby eggplant shells in either individual baking dishes or a larger baking dish. Stuff the baby eggplant shells with the stuffing mixture, and then sprinkle with a little extra cheese (if you're using cheese) before baking for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.