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Stuffed Egg Plant
1 egg plant 1 cup bread crumbs 1/2 cup crushed pineapple 2 tablespoons shortening 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1 egg, beaten Milk salt and pepper Cut egg plant in two, cover with salted water and parboil. Drain and scoop out pulp from center. Add crumbs, pineapple, shortening, nutmeg, egg, milk to moisten and seasonings, to egg plant shells, crumb the top and brown in moredate oven. If egg plant is large, serves 6.
A 1930s stuffed eggplant that leans sweet, with crushed pineapple and nutmeg standing in for the usual tomato and onion. The method is compressed to the point of skipping a step, so read the sequence before you start.
- The missing stepChop the scooped-out pulp and mix it with the crumbs, pineapple, shortening, nutmeg, egg, milk and seasoning, then pile that filling back into the shells. As printed, the pulp is scooped out and never mentioned again, so the shells are filled with a mixture containing no eggplant at all.
- Oven temperatureA moderate oven is usually taken as 350 to 375F. Give the filled shells 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are browned and the shell walls yield to a knife tip.
- Parboiling the halvesFive to eight minutes in salted water is enough to loosen the pulp. Longer and the shells collapse when you scoop. Leave about a half inch of flesh on the skin so they hold their shape.
- ShorteningIn this period that means vegetable shortening or lard. Butter or olive oil works and tastes better here; two tablespoons is right for one large eggplant.
- Milk to moistenNo quantity is given because it depends on how wet your pulp and pineapple are. Add a tablespoon at a time until the mixture holds together but is not soupy, usually a quarter cup or less. Drain the pineapple first.
- BitternessModern eggplant is generally bred to be less bitter than older varieties, so salting and standing is optional. If your eggplant is large and seedy, salt the cut faces for 20 minutes and pat dry before parboiling.
- Crumbing the topToss the topping crumbs with a little melted fat first. Dry crumbs on a moist filling tend to scorch in patches rather than brown evenly.
- YieldSix servings from a large eggplant means small side-dish portions. As a main dish it feeds two to three.