Eggplant Stuffed Peppers

We made these for a Sopranos marathon night along with other Italian food and appetizers inspired by a Sopranos cookbook.  Our mother used to make stuffed peppers growing up with ground beef and bread crumbs but we switched it up a little and used eggplant, tomatoes, black olives and corn meal to make it crisp on top.

Ingredients:

6 bell peppers (We used a mix of orange, yellow and red)

2 medium eggplants

4 large tomatoes

1 can sliced black olives

diced garlic to taste

salt and pepper to taste

corn meal to sprinkle over peppers

                                                     

First wash and dice the eggplant into small pieces. As you cut it, place the eggplant pieces in a strainer in the sink and sprinkle with salt. This will prevent discoloration and allow the eggplant to drain.  Once both eggplants are chopped sauté some fresh garlic in a little olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add the eggplant and sauté for a couple of minutes then add the diced tomatoes and sliced olives. Sauté for a few more minutes until eggplant is soft but not mushy.

While the eggplant is sautéing, wash the bell peppers and cut a circle in the top. Remove the      stem and seeds. Place peppers in a casserole dish and layer the bottom of the dish with about an inch of water.  

Next, fill each pepper with the eggplant mixture and sprinkle with corn meal. Drizzle olive oil    

oil over the peppers and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until toasted and crisp on top.