Stuffed Eggplant

Ingredients

1 large or 2 small Eggplants
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion – chopped
8 ounces fresh mushrooms - sliced
3-4 cloves garlic – minced
1 pound Italian sausage (3 links = approximately 1 pound)
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
½ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 Tablespoon dried fennel seeds
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon dried basil
Salt & pepper
Mozzarella cheese – grated (about ½ cup per eggplant half)

Directions

Cut the stem off and then cut the eggplant in half length-wise.
Use a small, sharp knife to cut around the inner edge of the eggplant leaving about ½ inch to form a shell.

Being careful not to cut through the bottom of the eggplant, cut the interior into pieces and scoop out pulp from eggplant.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Drop in the eggplant shells and cook for only 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Chop up the onion, slice the mushrooms and chop the inner pulp from the eggplant and set aside.

If you are using Italian Sausage links, remove the outer casings from each sausage. Add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil to a large pan and brown the sausage over medium high heat breaking it up as it cooks.

Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and sauté the onion in the same pan. Use a spoon to scrape up any sausage bits from the bottom of the pan. When the onions are tender but not browned (about 5 minutes) add the mushrooms and chopped eggplant.

You might need to add an additional Tablespoon of olive oil for cooking. Cook until tender about 10 minutes. Return the Italian Sausage to the pan and add 1 can (15 oz) of tomato sauce.

Add ½ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Season with 1 Tablespoon each dried fennel seeds, oregano and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir together and cook until thick- about 5 minutes. Place the eggplant shells in a large baking dish and fill with the sausage mixture. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the foil and top each eggplant half with mozzarella cheese. Return to the oven, uncovered for 15 more minutes to melt the cheese.

To brown the tops, turn on the broiler for the last minute of cooking. Watch carefully so that the cheese does not burn under the broiler.