Eggplant Stuffed with Rice and Tuna: A Light Recipe That’s Delicious Hot or Cold…
Imagine ingredients like rice, tuna and eggplant… what comes to mind? Or rather, how would you imagine a recipe? Be honest, you may have thought of a gray, sad dish with little seasoning or flavor… well today I will show you how to combine these ingredients and create a phenomenal yet super simple, healthy and balanced dish: eggplant stuffed with rice and tuna!
Ingredients:
- 2 long eggplants (aubergines)
- Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), as needed
- 1 clove of garlic
- Fine salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 100g (1/2 cup) rice
- 2 small cans of tuna in oil, drained (approximately 5-6 oz or 140-170g total)
- 1 egg
- Cherry tomatoes, as needed
- Dried oregano, to taste
How to prepare Eggplant Stuffed with Rice and Tuna:
- Cut the eggplant in half, scoop out the flesh, dice it, and sauté it in a pan with oil, salt, and garlic.
- The hollow eggplant boats should be lightly salted on the bottom, then drained when they have lost some of their vegetation water thanks to the salt and baked for 15 minutes at 180°C (340°F) with a tiny bit of water on the bottom of the pan.
- After these 15 minutes have passed, they will have softened enough so you can decant them into a smaller baking pan to make sure they accommodate the filling well without “sagging.”
- In a bowl we create the filling: mix al dente rice cooked for 5-6 minutes, drained tuna in oil, the sautéed eggplant, egg, pepper and capers (optional).
- We are ready to fill the eggplants and top them with some cherry tomatoes cut in half, oil and oregano, finally we can bake everything (adding on the bottom of the pan 1/2 glass of water) at 180°C (340°F) for about 45-50 minutes in “ventilated oven” mode.
- Let them cool out of the oven 10 minutes, then serve and enjoy them right away… or we can eat them cold by storing them until the next day at most in the fridge!
Bon Appétit!
