Whole roasted eggplants, stuffed with their own flesh sautéed with mushrooms, onion and garlic, then baked with a topping of Roquefort and walnuts.
These stuffed eggplants come out of the oven with wrinkled skins, flesh tender enough to scoop with a spoon and Roquefort melting between the golden walnuts. Here, the eggplants roast whole, then their flesh joins a pan of sautéed mushrooms, onion and garlic before returning to the skins under a layer of blue cheese. For two servings, allow 35 minutes of cooking time, including half an hour to soften the eggplants. With its low-carb option, this recipe joins my collection of keto main dishes.
What Is Stuffed Eggplant ?
Stuffed eggplants are split open and filled with a stuffing before a final stint in the oven. In this vegetarian version, they are first lightly oiled and roasted whole until the flesh can be scooped out with a spoon.
A lengthwise slit then creates a pocket, starting and ending about 1 cm from the stem and tip, leaving at least half a centimeter of flesh at the bottom. Some of this flesh joins the mushrooms, onion and garlic ; it binds the stuffing without eggs or breadcrumbs. Roquefort and a few walnuts finish the dish in the oven.
The Origins of This Version
Stuffed vegetables are part of French home cooking : a roasted vegetable holds a flavorful stuffing, topped with cheese that browns in the oven.
What sets this version apart is the cooking sequence. The eggplant roasts whole before being opened, its flesh goes into the stuffing, and the blue cheese is added at the end with the walnuts. The stuffing stays vegetarian, with cremini mushrooms for texture and flavor.
The Main Ingredients
Two eggplants, one per person, serve as both the container and the main ingredient : the skins hold the filling, while the roasted flesh binds it together. The 100 g of cremini mushrooms, cut into small pieces, form the base of the stuffing. For another way to cook them, see my braised mushrooms in soy sauce.
One very finely sliced small onion and two pressed garlic cloves form the aromatic base. The 100 g of Roquefort, or another blue cheese, brings saltiness and creaminess : keep the seasoning measured, with 4 pinches of salt in total, the last sprinkled over the filling, and 2 pinches of black pepper. For a strictly vegetarian meal, check the cheese, as Roquefort is traditionally made with animal rennet.
Three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil are divided between the eggplants, onion and mushrooms. A few walnuts added toward the end of cooking provide crunch. The 1 tablespoon of honey is optional, drizzled sparingly over the plated dish ; a honey-flavored liquid sweetener can replace it, and according to the recipe, this sweetener variation provides 17 g of net carbs per serving.
Cooking Tips and Serving
Preheat the oven to 200 °C, rub the eggplants with oil using your hands and roast them for half an hour in a baking dish or cast-iron skillet. Meanwhile, sauté the onion over low heat in a tablespoon of oil until translucent, add the garlic, pepper and salt, then add the mushrooms over slightly higher heat with another tablespoon of oil, cooking until their juices evaporate. Slit the cooked eggplants, scoop out a little flesh, mix it with the mushrooms and fill the eggplants.
Top with blue cheese and walnuts, add a pinch of salt and return to the oven for at least 5 minutes, preferably using the top heating element, until the cheese melts ; keep an eye on the walnuts so they brown without burning. Serve one eggplant per person, with a light drizzle of honey if you like and a Japanese cabbage salad for freshness.
For more ideas : Air fryer eggplant.
Find more dishes like this in my low-carb recipes.
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 100 g button mushrooms brown
- 1 onion small
- 2 cloves garlic
- 100 g blue cheese I used Roquefort
- 2 pinches black pepper
- 4 pinches salt (Celtic sea salt)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
Optional
- 1 tablespoon honey (or honey-flavored liquid sweetener)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- Use your hands to coat the eggplants with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.2 eggplants, 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Place in an ovenproof dish or cast-iron skillet and bake for half an hour.
- Very finely chop the onion. Heat a frying pan and sauté the onion over moderate heat in 1 tablespoon of oil until translucent.1 onion
- Crush the garlic in a garlic press and add it along with the pepper and salt.2 cloves garlic, 2 pinches black pepper, 4 pinches salt
- Cut the mushrooms into small pieces and sauté them with the onion mixture. Increase the heat slightly and add another tablespoon of oil.100 g button mushrooms
- When the eggplants are ready, make a lengthwise slit in each one. Leave about one cm at the stem and at the other end. Do not cut too deeply either, leave at least half a centimeter of flesh intact at the bottom.
- Scoop out some of the eggplant flesh and add it to the mushrooms.
- Stuff the eggplants with the mushroom mixture.
- Top with blue cheese and walnuts. Sprinkle with another pinch of salt.100 g blue cheese
- Return to the oven for at least 5 minutes. Preferably use the top heating element so the cheese melts well.
- If desired, drizzle a few drops of honey or sweetener over the eggplant once plated.1 tablespoon honey
