Beef And Eggplant Sausage In Eggplant Shell Casings Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Brush cut sides of eggplant with olive oil and place, cut-side up onto a baking sheet. Roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes, then remove and allow to cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, brown the Italian sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat; drain off the grease. Place into a mixing bowl, and season with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Stir in bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce, 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, and the beaten egg; mix well.
• Once the roasted eggplant has cooled enough to handle, scoop out the flesh to within 1/2-inch of the skin to create a shell. Roughly chop the eggplant meat, and fold into the sausage mixture. Divide evenly among the two eggplant shells, and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven until the filling has set, and the cheese is bubbly and golden-brown, about 30 minutes. While the eggplant is baking, warm the remaining spaghetti sauce in a saucepan over medium-low heat to serve with the eggplant.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Scoop out the flesh of the eggplant, chop, and reserve. Season shells with salt and pepper, and coat with some olive oil; set aside.
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Saute sausage and garlic until sausage is evenly brown. Stir in the reserved chopped eggplant. Season with parsley, salt and pepper. Pour in wine, and cook 5 minutes. Mix in the bread crumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. If mixture is dry, stir in more olive oil. Stuff mixture into eggplant shells, and sprinkle top with remaining Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until eggplant is tender.

Steps:

• Peel half the skin from the eggplant and then chop into bite-size pieces. Sprinkle the eggplant with salt, and drain a few minutes on paper towels.
• Heat the oil over medium-high heat, and add the sausage. Crumble the sausage and cook until brown. Add the garlic, celery and onions to the sausage. Pat the moisture off of the eggplant and stir the pieces into the mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables, partially covered, to soften, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and basil. Bring to a bubble and simmer the sauce to combine the flavors.
• Cool and store for a make-ahead meal. Reheat the sauce on the stovetop over medium heat. If the sauce is too thick add a little water or chicken stock if using to thin it out.
• To serve, bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt the boiling water and cook the pasta to al dente. Add about 1 cup of starchy water to the sauce. Then drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Adjust the seasoning, then serve in shallow bowls and top with grated cheese and a drizzle of EVOO.

Steps:

• In a colander, toss the eggplant with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and let stand for 10 minutes.
• Pat dry with a paper towel and set aside.
• Remove the casings from the sausage.
• In a large, shallow Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat.
• Brown the sausage, breaking up any large chunks.
• With a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Drain the fat from the pan.
• Heat the remaining oil in the same pan over medium heat.
• Cook the onion, celery, garlic, oregano, pepper, eggplant and remaining salt, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is very soft, about 15 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, breaking up with a spoon.
• Return the sausage to the pan and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 35 minutes.

Steps:

• For the béchamel: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add flour and whisk until pale golden, about 5 minutes. Add milk, salt, white pepper and nutmeg, and whisk to combine thoroughly. Cook, whisking frequently, until thickened and smooth, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• For the casserole: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread eggplant slices in a single layer on a baking sheet, and thoroughly coat both sides with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and black pepper. Roast until fully cooked, 12 to 15 minutes, then remove from heat but do not turn off oven. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, sauté merguez until browned and fully cooked. Remove from heat and slice into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.
• Oil an 8-by-11, 2-inch-deep baking dish. Spread one-third of béchamel in baking dish. Top with half the eggplant, then half the fontina and half the merguez. Coat with half of the remaining béchamel. Top with remaining eggplant, fontina and merguez. Spread with remaining béchamel and the Parmesan.
• Bake until hot, bubbling and lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to rest for a minute or two, then serve.

Steps:

• To make the sausage, cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Scoop the pulp out of each eggplant half, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Coarsely chop the pulp and sprinkle it with the salt. Set the pulp and shells aside separately.
• In a large nonreactive sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Crumble in the beef and cook, stirring to break up the clumps, until the meat is browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, oregano, wine, and eggplant pulp and decrease the heat to maintain a brisk simmer. Cook, stirring frequently and adding a little water when necessary to keep the mixture from sticking to the pan, until the eggplant collapses into a puree, the wine is no longer raw, and the mixture is almost dry, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the 2 tablespoons oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add as many eggplant shells as will fit without crowding and sauté, turning two or three times, until wilted all around, about 6 minutes. Transfer the shells, open sides up, to a baking dish in which all the shells will fit tightly packed. Repeat with the remaining shells, adding more oil if needed to prevent sticking.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Divide the sausage mixture evenly among the eggplant shells, filling them to the top. Pour water into the baking dish to reach 1/4 inch up the sides of the shells.
• Bake until the shells are soft and the filling is bubbling up, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the tops of the filled shells and continue baking until the cheese is melted.
• Serve hot from the oven, at room temperature, or chilled.