food & dining
Vegetarian Dinners
W ith the festive, celebratory meals
enjoyed throughout the High
Holidays, interspersing with a vegetar-
ian repast can be just what the doctor
ordered. The following dishes are not super-
light, but they are meat-free and provide
a good counterpoint to the richness of
brisket, matzah ball soup, apple cake …
you get the picture.

The first dish was inspired by eggplant
Parmesan, which I love but find labo-
rious to make and on the heavy side. I
eliminated the breading and frying step,
skipped the layer of mozzarella cheese
and stuffed the eggplant with toma-
to-braised veggies rather than layering
the slices. I served it atop pasta laced with
the surplus veggie mixture, but you could
skip that if carbs are a concern.

The second dish was an attempt to use
leftover rice. Because the fritters are, by
definition, fried, this would not be on
32 the low-fat, low-cal list, but they can be a
vehicle for shredded veggies, fresh herbs
or yogurt — or served solo. They would
also be nice accompanied by a green
salad to round out a meal.

Stuffed Eggplant
Serves 4
This can easily be made pareve/
vegan with the elimination of the
Parmesan cheese. If a bit of addi-
tional crunch or seasoning is desired
for the topping, you can add sea-
soned bread crumbs or panko.

1 large eggplant
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
½ of a large zucchini, grated
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon fresh oregano or
1 teaspoon dried
1 13-ounce box or can diced
tomatoes SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
¼ cup broth or water, as needed
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste
¾ pound fettuccine or other pasta
Fresh basil for garnish
Remove the stem, and cut the
eggplant in half vertically. You want
to remove most of the “flesh” of the
eggplant, leaving a shell for stuffing,
so you will cut a line around each
side, about ½ inch from the skin. Be
sure not to puncture the bottom.

Using a spoon (a grapefruit spoon
with serrated edges is perfect here,
but any spoon will do), scoop the
flesh out of each half, chop it into
pieces and place it in a colander.

Sprinkle the eggplant halves and the
cut pieces generously with salt, and
let it sit for 30 minutes.

Heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Rinse the eggplant, and pat it dry.

Brush the insides of the eggplant
halves with oil, place them in a bak-
ing dish and bake them for about 40
minutes until cooked through and
completely soft.

While the eggplant cooks, make
the filling.

In a large skillet, heat the remain-
ing oil and sauté the onion and gar-
lic until fragrant. Add the eggplant,
grated zucchini, salt, pepper and
oregano. Sauté until the vegetables
are partially cooked, about 8 min-
utes. Add the crushed tomatoes, and
stir. Lower the heat, and simmer.

If the mixture becomes too dry
and begins to burn, add the broth
or water. Simmer for the time the
eggplant bakes, until all the vegeta-
bles are soft and melded. The mix-
ture should resemble thick, chunky
salsa in texture. Taste for seasoning,
and add additional salt, pepper and
oregano, if needed.

When the eggplant shells are
done, remove them from the oven
and spoon the tomato mixture into
each shell, leaving about 1½ cups in
the skillet to top the pasta. Top with
Parmesan cheese as desired.

Place the stuffed eggplant back
into the oven for about 10 minutes.

While the stuffed eggplant finishes
baking, cook the pasta to al dente
(1 minute less than the box directs).

Drain the pasta, toss it with the
remaining tomato mixture and place
the stuffed eggplants on top of the
pasta. Top it with chopped basil
and additional Parmesan cheese, if
desired. Rice Fritters
Make 8 fritters
This is a great way to use leftover
rice. They are so delicious that, in the
future, despite my general dislike of
leftovers, I may make extra rice to
have an excuse to make these.

I used grated zucchini because
I had it on hand, but any grated
veggie such as carrots, eggplant,
potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli or
cabbage would work fine.

2 cups cooked rice
1 egg
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 carrot, grated
½ cup grated zucchini
Salt and pepper to taste
Canola oil for frying
In a medium bowl, mix all the
ingredients. In a large skillet, heat a thin coat-
ing of oil over medium heat.

With wet hands, form the rice mix-
ture into patties, using about a third
of a cup for each, and carefully place
them in the hot pan. The patties are
prone to falling apart, so it is best to
minimize flipping to one time each.

Let each patty cook for about 4
minutes per side and carefully flip
them — using two spatulas can help
them hold together. They should be
golden brown and lightly crisped.

Serve alone or topped with your
favorite sauce, as a side dish or with
a salad. JE
Photo by Keri White
KERI WHITE | SPECIAL TO THE JE