This dish will without a doubt be a regular for me in the coming years.  It was so good and it used my eggplant and peppers.   We all know the eggplant season can be a challenge to continue to think up new and interesting ways to use this wonderful veggie.  Well here is your ace!  My friend AInie (also a Veggie Husband member) and I made these peppers last week and we had a great time, drank a little wine, and came out with a star dish without breaking a sweat!  I highly recommend it for those reasons.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil, or more if needed
About 1 lb eggplant, cut into small dice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 tomatoes,  chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste dissolved in 1/4 cup water (if you can find it the sun-dried tomato paste)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons shredded basil leaves
2 1/2 tablespoons capers
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
4 tablespoons raisins (always use the dark ones, they have more flavor when cooking)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 cup breadcrumbs
6-7 long, narrow red or green peppers
Olive oil

Preparation:
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. When it’s hot, add the eggplant and saute it until it’s just cooked and golden in patches (if your pan is small do this in batches.)

Add the garlic and onion to the eggplant in the pan and cook them, stirring regularly, for about eight minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook everything for another couple of minutes.

Next stir in the dissolved tomato paste and cook it for a minute. Turn off heat, add all the remaining filling ingredients and mix them in well. Let it cool a little while you start on the peppers. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Use a small sharp knife to make a cut through one pepper near the stalk end but don’t cut right through, it should still be attached on one side. Now make a long cut from the middle of this one down the length of the pepper almost to the tip. The cuts form a T shape. With you fingers and the help of the knife if you need it, carefully pull out the ribs and seeds. Repeat this with the other peppers.Now fill the peppers with the eggplant mixture. Make sure you push it down into the tips and mound it up a little so you can see the filling through the long cut.

Arrange the peppers in a lightly oiled baking dish, cut side up, drizzle a little oil over the top if you like and add a splash of water to the pan. Pop them in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the peppers are just cooked but still hold their shape. Lift them out and let them cool a little.

You can garnish these with a bit of capers, toasted pine nuts, if you have some extra, optional.  This is a great appetizer or main entree.  Enjoy!

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