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    Home » Recipes

    Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats with Balsamic Glaze

    October 2, 2018 • Updated: June 28, 2021 • by Renée • This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe   Print Recipe

    Thick, meaty Bolognese sauce makes these Stuffed Eggplant Boats a hearty, satisfying meal – easy enough for a busy weeknight and fancy enough for company.

    Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats with Balsamic Glaze | The Good Hearted Woman
    This post may contain affiliate links, but don't worry - they won't bite.

    A Pinch of This and a Handful of That

    Or, How to Remember Your Culinary Creations When You are a “Pinch & Toss” Cook

    When I was six years old, Mrs Obinger from across the street taught me how to measure salt in the palm of my hand. First, she showed me a teaspoon and let me practice a little. Then we moved on to half-teaspoons, and finally quarter-teaspoons. (Cooking and teaching fractions go together so nicely, don’t you think?) It didn’t take long before I was a palm-measuring pro.

    “See there, dear, now you’ll never need a measuring spoon again!” I remember Mrs Obinger telling me. Then we made a batch of her wonderful coconut cookies.

    I’ve been measuring in my palm and guestimating amounts ever since.

    Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats with Balsamic Glaze | The Good Hearted Woman

    The problem about being a “Pinch & Toss” kind of cook is, on those days when you hit it out of the park and make something amazing – something you want to make again and again – and possibly even Share – sometimes it’s difficult to remember just exactly what went into it in the first place, and how much, and when, and at what temperature, for how long… anyway, you get the idea.

    I solve this problem with my phone’s voice recorder app. I just hit record whenever I’m feeling a little culinary inspiration; and while I erased far more recipes than I keep, the habit is starting to pay off.

    Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats with Balsamic Glaze | The Good Hearted Woman

    This recipe for Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats is the first one for which my new “recipe recording” system proved its worth. I would have been hard pressed to make it a second time if I hadn’t recorded myself while I was making it. It's a real keeper, too!

    Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats with Balsamic Glaze | The Good Hearted Woman

    Thick, meaty bolognese sauce makes these Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats a hearty, deeply satisfying meal without being heavy or weighing you down.

    Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats with Balsamic Glaze | The Good Hearted Woman
    4.78 from 9 votes

    Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Author: Renee

    Ingredients

    • 4 small eggplants [1 ¾ - 2 pounds total]
    • 1 large onion chopped
    • 1 pound mushrooms chopped
    • 2 teaspoons olive oil
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 pound mild Italian sausage [I use Iserno Mild Italian Chicken sausage]
    • 1-2 teaspoons Kosher salt See note
    • 1 ½ teaspoon dried basil
    • 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano
    • ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
    • 1 teaspoon hot sauce [optional]
    • 1 14 oz. can finely diced tomatoes
    • ½ cup dried Italian bread crumb [or ¾ cup fresh bread crumbs]
    • 2 ounces grated Romano cheese plus more for garnish
    • Balsamic Glaze recipe below
    • baby arugula [optional]
    Balsamic Glaze
    • ½ cup balsamic vinegar
    • 3 tablespoons brown sugar [or honey]

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350° F.

    Eggplant Prep

    • Slice each eggplant in half, lengthwise from stem to blossom end. Using a spoon, hollow out eggplants, leaving about a ½-inch-thick border around skin to create a boat.
    • Line a heavy baking sheet with foil, parchment paper, or a silicone mat.
    • Set aside the scooped-out eggplant for us in the filling.
    • Transfer eggplant boats to transfer to prepared baking sheet.
      Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats with Balsamic Glaze | The Good Hearted Woman

    Bolognese-style Eggplant Filling

    • In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté chopped onions and mushrooms in 2 teaspoons olive oil until they are soft and the onions are translucent.
    • Reduce heat to medium. Add minced garlic and chopped eggplant from the Eggplant Prep and cook, stirring frequently, until eggplant is almost fully cooked.
    • Push eggplant mixture to the sides of skillet and add the mild Italian sausage to the center. Cook sausage, breaking up as you go, until it is fully cooked.
    • Reduce heat to medium-low. Add Kosher salt, dried basil and oregano, pepper, hot sauce (optional) and diced tomatoes. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture has reduced and no watery liquid remains in the pan when you pull the mixture away. Remove skillet from heat.
    • To the mixture in skillet, add ½ cup bread crumbs and 2 ounces of grated Romano cheese. Give it one good stir to incorporate everything together.
    • Using a large spoon, evenly divide the filling between the eggplant halves. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes.
      Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats with Balsamic Glaze | The Good Hearted Woman
    • Serve on a bed of baby arugula. Finish with a generous drizzle of balsamic glaze and a sprinkling of Romano. 

    Balsamic Glaze

    • Mix balsamic vinegar and brown sugar a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until the mixture begins to boil. 
    • Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has reduced by half; 10-12 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

    Notes

    SALT: If you use regular table salt in place of Kosher salt, it will <em>dramatically reduce</em> the amount of salt you need. The amount of salt also depends on whether you use fresh bread crumbs or dried, and the amount of seasonings in the Italian sausage you use. In each case, reduce the amount of salt you use by ½ teaspoon (or more), depending on your personal tastes. 
    Weight Watchers SmartPoints [2018] 
    • ½ eggplant with stuffing = 4 pts
    • 1 whole eggplant with stuffing = 7 pts.
    • Balsamic Glaze = 1 pt / Tbls 
    (Points were calculated using Iserno ground chicken mild Italian sausage.) 
    This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
    Have you tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

    You can easily make this a vegetarian meal by substituting a plant-based protein for the Italian sausage.

    Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats with Balsamic Glaze | The Good Hearted Woman

    Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats can be prepared up to two days ahead of time and thrown in the oven when you are ready to eat. Be sure to add five to seven minutes to the cooking time if you put them into the oven cold from the fridge.

    Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats with Balsamic Glaze | The Good Hearted Woman

    Wavy Line

    THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
    of The Good Hearted Woman. ? Be sure to PIN this post!

    Bolognese Stuffed Eggplant Boats with Balsamic Glaze | The Good Hearted WomanWavy Line

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won't cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

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    About Renée

    Renée is writer, music maker, artist, and storyteller. In her spare time, you can find her writing love songs about cowboys, exploring the moss-covered nooks and crannies of the Pacific Northwest, and making music with her talented singer-husband.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Martha says

      August 25, 2019 at 3:33 pm

      3 stars
      I made this exactly as directed and it’s way too salty! I would do 1 tsp not 2, and it would’ve been perfect and delicious!

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        August 29, 2019 at 6:55 am

        Thank you for the valuable feedback, Martha. I updated the amount of salt in the recipe to 1 -2 teaspoons, and added this note:

        "SALT: If you use regular table salt in place of Kosher salt, it will dramatically reduce the amount of salt you need. The amount of salt also depends on whether you use fresh bread crumbs or dried, and the amount of seasonings in the Italian sausage you use. In each case, reduce the amount of salt you use by 1/2 teaspoon (or more), depending on your personal tastes."

        Hope you enjoy them more next time you make them! ?

        Reply
    2. Cindy Ingalls says

      October 05, 2018 at 10:01 am

      Any recipe with eggplant always peaks my interests. It's one of my favorites. I like the idea of stuffing it full of bolognese for that rich flavor.

      Reply
    3. Mary says

      October 04, 2018 at 2:26 pm

      My goodness this looks so comforting and delicious! Love the tip about the voice recorder app too. Need to try that myself.

      Reply
    4. Catherine Brown says

      October 03, 2018 at 7:20 pm

      5 stars
      These are beautiful! I've never stuffed eggplant before.... totally looking forward to trying this out!

      Reply
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