Stuffed eggplants with vegetable rice

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 2 large eggplants, approx. 500 – 600 g
• 600 g minced meat
• 100 g mushrooms
• 2 m.-sized onion(s)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 250 ml vegetable stock
• 250 g rice, possibly mixed with wild rice, green spelt etc.
• 1 m.-sized carrot(s)
• 1 small bell pepper(s), green
• 1 small zucchini
• ½ bunch parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper
• Paprika powder
• olive oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

Wash the eggplants, remove the stems, and halve them lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon, leaving a 1 cm border. Dice the flesh, season with salt, and set aside. Finely dice one onion and the mushrooms and mix with the minced meat. Finely chop the garlic cloves and add them. Season with salt, pepper, and paprika. Add some chopped parsley. Fill the eggplant halves with the minced meat and place in a baking dish. Pour in the vegetable stock. Cook in the oven at 180°C on the middle rack for approx. 45-50 minutes. In the meantime, dice the carrot, bell pepper, zucchini, and the second onion. Drain any water from the salted eggplant cubes and mix with the remaining vegetables. Place the rice in a sieve and rinse until the water runs clear. Place the rice in a pot and add just enough water to come up to about 2 cm above the rice. Add a little salt. Bring the rice to a boil, then turn off the heat. Let it simmer on the warm stovetop with the lid on for about 15 minutes. Sauté the diced vegetables in a pan with olive oil and toss with the cooked rice. Stir in the chopped parsley.