Healthy Turkey And Chick Pea Stuffed Eggplant Recipes

MEDITERRANEAN TURKEY STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Slice eggplants in half lengthwise. Leaving about a 1/2 inch border around the edges and cutting deep but taking care not to pierce skin, score eggplant flesh diagonally one way and then diagonally the other way to form a diamond pattern. Brush each eggplant half with 1 tsp olive oil, 1/8 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper.
• Place eggplant halves on baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, until flesh is golden. Remove from oven to let cool a bit.
• When eggplants are cool enough to touch scoop out the flesh and chop it into cubes.
• Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 4-5 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
• Add turkey to skillet, along with oregano, paprika, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Cook turkey, breaking up with a spatula or fork, until cooked through. Drain excess oil from skillet if necessary. Stir in tomatoes, olives, feta, and chopped eggplant and cook for another minute.
• Remove skillet from heat and stir in Hood Sour Cream.
• Stuff eggplants with turkey mixture and sprinkle panko over the top of each eggplant.
• Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Then turn broiler on and broil for 2-3 minutes, until tops of eggplants are golden.
• Garnish eggplants with chopped parsley, additional chopped tomato, and additional sour cream if desired.

MEAT STUFFED EGGPLANT RECIPE (TURKEY)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 F/ 200 C/ gas mark 6. Cut the eggplants in half lengthways and place on a large baking tray open side up. Brush/drizzle with a little olive oil (2 tablespoons) and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little. Keep the oven on.
• Whilst the eggplant is in the oven prepare the sauce. In a large frying pan heat up 2 tablespoons of the oil, add the garlic and onion and cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes stirring often. Add the meat, mash using a fork and continue cooking for 3 more minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and spices, stir and cook over medium/high heat for about 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Once the eggplants have cooled a little scoop out the flesh leaving about 8 mm around the edges (you can do this using a knife and either a melon baller or a large spoon). Place the pulp, along with HALF of the sauce in a blender and whiz for a few seconds until the ingredients are well combined. Add this mixture to the remaining sauce and stir thoroughly.
• Place a generous amount of the sauce inside the eggplant halves, drizzle with a little oil and bake for 40 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, sprinkle with freshly chopped cilantro and serve.

HEALTHY TURKEY AND CHICK PEA-STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheet with sides with foil; set aside.
• Cut ends off eggplants; cut each in half lengthwise. Scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4 inch flesh on all sides, including ends. Place on cookie sheet; set aside.
• Heat 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot; add turkey. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until browned. Add onion, salt and ras el hanout. Cook 4 to 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Remove from heat; stir in garlic, tomatoes, tahini, chick peas and couscous. Divide mixture evenly among eggplant halves. Cover with foil.
• Bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven; uncover. Sprinkle goat cheese evenly over mixture in eggplants. Bake uncovered 10 to 15 minutes or until eggplant is tender when pierced with knife. Transfer to serving plates. Drizzle lemon juice evenly over each eggplant. Sprinkle with cilantro.

TURKEY STUFFED EGGPLANT RECIPE

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise. Using a small sharp knife, and leaving about 1/2 -inch border around the edges, score the eggplants in a criss-cross pattern reaching to the bottom of the eggplant but being careful not to pierce skin (this will make scooping out the flesh easier once it is cooked). Brush each half with olive oil, and season with a 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper.
• Place the eggplant halves, skin side down, in a baking tray and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until nicely golden-brown and tender. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.
• Meanwhile prepare the filling. Heat 1 tablesoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and red pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes until slightly soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
• Add the ground turkey, oregano, paprika, cayenne (if using) and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until brown and no longer pink. Add the tomatoes and fresh thyme and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
• Once the eggplant has cooled enough to touch, gently scoop out most of the flesh and add to the turkey mixture, leaving the shells in the baking tray. Cook the mixture for 5 minutes to let the flavours meld.
• Stuff the eggplant halves evenly with the turkey mixture. Crumble the goat cheese over top and roast for about 5-10 minutes just to heat through. TIP: If using a melty cheese such as mozzarella, turn on the broiler for 1-2 minutes.
• If making the lemon yogurt sauce, mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl to combine.
• Garnish eggplants with chopped thyme leaves and basil. Serve with lemon-yogurt sauce, if desired.