Eggplant-and-bulgur-stuffed vegetables
Source of Recipe
Gourmet
Recipe Introduction
Slow-cooking these colorful vegetables renders them soft and silky. And serving them Mediterranean-style — at room temperature — makes entertaining easy, because you don't have to run back and forth between the table and the kitchen.
Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr
Servings: Makes 8 first-course servings.
List of Ingredients
1 (1 1/2-lb) eggplant
8 small round tomatoes (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter; 2 1/2 lb total)
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
4 small zucchini (1 1/2 lb), halved lengthwise
1 large onion, chopped (2 cups)
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing vegetables
2/3 cup medium bulgur
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup dried currants
4 small (not baby) yellow or orange bell peppers with stems (2 lb total), halved lengthwise through stem, then ribs and seeds discarded
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Special equipment: a well-seasoned 12-inch cast-iron skillet Recipe
Heat skillet over moderate heat until hot, then cook eggplant, turning occasionally with tongs, until blackened on all sides and tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, peel eggplant, then cut flesh into 1/2-inch pieces.
While eggplant cooks, core tomatoes and cut off top 1/2 inch from each. Cut tops into 1/4-inch dice and set aside. Scoop out insides of tomatoes with a melon-ball cutter or a spoon into a medium-mesh sieve set over a bowl, leaving shells intact. Force pulp and juice through sieve, discarding seeds. Add enough water to juice to total 2 cups and set aside. Sprinkle tomato shells with 1/4 teaspoon salt, then invert onto a rack set in a shallow baking pan and drain 20 minutes.
Scoop flesh from zucchini halves into a bowl using a melon-ball cutter or spoon, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shells. Coarsely chop flesh and set aside.
Cook chopped zucchini and onion in 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add bulgur, sugar, allspice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, until bulgur is coated, about 1 minute. Add juice mixture, diced tomatoes, and currants and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cover skillet, then let stand until liquid is absorbed and bulgur is tender, about 10 minutes.
While bulgur stands, put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
Arrange tomato and zucchini shells, cut sides up, in an oiled 15- by 10-inch shallow baking pan. Brush insides of shells with oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pepper (total), then sprinkle zucchini only with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Put bell pepper halves in an oiled 13- by 9-inch baking pan, then brush insides with some oil and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Stir eggplant pieces, 2 tablespoons parsley, and salt and pepper to taste into bulgur mixture. Spoon stuffing into vegetable shells, then drizzle stuffing with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and cover pans loosely with foil.
Bake, switching position of pans halfway through baking, until vegetable shells are just tender but not falling apart, 20 to 30 minutes for tomatoes and zucchini and 30 to 40 minutes for bell peppers. Cool vegetables to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley just before serving.
Cooks' notes:
• Stuffed vegetables can be baked 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving (this will take about 1 hour).
• Eggplant can be broiled 4 to 6 inches from heat in a preheated broiler, turning occasionally, until it collapses, 15 to 20 minutes.
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