Eggplant Dolma

Photo: flickr user avlxyz

Ingredients

2 round eggplant or 4 Japanese oblong 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound lean ground lamb or ½ lamb and ½ ground round

1 can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce

1 yellow onion [chopped]

cup chopped green bell pepper

cup parsley

1 clove crushed garlic

teaspoon chopped fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Cut the eggplant lengthwise and scoop out most of the fleshy pulp and set aside. Salt the shells and set aside to make them sweat. Rinse off salt, gently squeeze and dry. Fry the shells in a tablespoon of olive oil until browned, and drain on paper towels. In a tablespoon of olive oil, brown off meat, add chopped onion and peppers. Then add the rest of the ingredients and the diced up eggplant pulp. Mix the ingredients together and fill the eggplant

2 large tomatoes Parmesan cheese or feta cheese - Slice the tomatoes and arrange on top of the stuffed shells. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the shells and sprinkle with parmesan or feta cheese. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for an hour.