sweet italian sausage stuffed chinese eggplant

I've had a weakness for pork lately. I ate wild boar bacon this weekend. I have a few packages of cured meat in the fridge right now. I ate a pork belly bun at momofuku this weekend and then proceeded to buy some sweet italian sausage with fennel from an italian deli right afterward. I usually avoid it because I try to eat mostly plants and I have some trouble digesting meat but lately it hasn't been an issue. The pork sausage with fennel seed is a stand-out component of this recipe. I wouldn't change anything about this dish. I'm not a huge fan of cooking eggplant but I enjoy eating it when it's cooked right. I've actually only eaten purple globe eggplants that are so common in supermarkets. (I'm pretty sure the only way I've eaten them is à la eggplant parmesan) They sometimes require a couple hours of salting and squeezing to get the excess water and bitterness out. Until today! I bought some chinese eggplant in chinatown over the weekend after reading that it's more sweet and tender than globe eggplant. It's so true. I baked it for only 15 minutes and it was perfect. It's an excellent vehicle for this sweet and savory sausage, tomato, herb, onion, garlic and feta mixture. This recipe was inspired by Emeril Lagasse's 'Greek Stuffed Eggplant' dish. Enjoy this as a dinner for two or double it for four people.

You'll need:

1 long, firm chinese eggplant

olive oil 

1/4 to 1/3 of a pound of  sweet italian sausage, removed from casing and crumbled
(w/ fennel seed if you can find it, you can also add in a few crushed fennel seeds)


1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/3 of a red or green bell pepper, small dice

2 Tablespoons of italian breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon of Emeril's Essence spice blend (you can find it in any grocery store)

1 Tablespoon of tomato paste (I use the kind in the tube, it's double concentrated and resealable)

1/4 cup of crumbled goat's milk feta (or cow)

salt and black pepper for seasoning

1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano


Preheat the oven to 350°. Slice the eggplant vertically in half and scoop out the flesh leaving at least 1/4 inch thick shell. Chop up the scooped out eggplant and set aside. Rub eggplant shells with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes on a baking sheet. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Keep oven on.

Drizzle some olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook sausage crumbles just until browned and then transfer to plate. Lower heat to medium and add in onion and a dash of salt. Stir frequently and cook until softened, about four minutes. Add in bell pepper, eggplant and garlic and cook for two minutes more. Add in garlic, the Essence spice blend, parsley, oregano and tomato paste and cook for two minutes more. Turn off heat. Add in cooked sausage, feta and breadcrumbs. Taste to check seasoning. Add a little salt and pepper if desired. Fill eggplant shells with the sausage mixture and bake for five minutes. Serve with a salad or cooked greens and some fresh bread.