Eggplant Wrapped Shrimp Florentine Recipes

STUFFED EGGPLANT WITH SHRIMP AND BASIL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Scoop out the flesh of the eggplant, chop, and reserve. Coat shells with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Saute shrimp, basil and garlic until shrimp turns pink, about 1 minute. Stir in the reserved chopped eggplant. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in wine, and cook 5 minutes.
• Transfer to a large bowl, and mix in the bread crumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. If mixture is dry, stir in more olive oil. Stuff mixture into eggplant shells, and sprinkle top with remaining Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until eggplant is tender.

RAGIN' CAJUN EGGPLANT AND SHRIMP SKILLET

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until tender, 3-4 minutes. Drain., Preheat oven to 350°. In an ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add celery, onion and green pepper; saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; stir in tomatoes and eggplant. Saute 5 minutes. Stir in seasonings. Add shrimp and bread crumbs; saute 5 minutes longer, stirring well., Bake 30 minutes. Remove skillet from oven; top with cheese. Bake 5 minutes more.

CREOLE EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Peel, clean, devein and rinse shrimp. Depending on the size of the shrimp, they can be chopped into a smaller size if desired. Pat dry with paper towels and place in a bowl. Add a generous sprinkle of creole seasoning, mix well and set aside.
• Peel the eggplant and cut into small cubes about 1/2 inch square; place in a bowl and mix in a little (not much) kosher salt. Set aside.
• Chop the yellow onions, green onions and garlic. If using fresh tomatoes, peel them using the boiling water blanch method (see Hints and Tips). Drain the tomatoes if using canned. Measure the butter, creole seasoning and bread crumbs.
• Melt butter over medium heat in Dutch Oven.
• Sauté the yellow onions in the butter until starting to clear, about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add the garlic and saute until the garlic is aromatic, probably about 2 minutes.
• Add green onions, salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of creole seasoning. Mix well and cook about 2 minutes.
• Crush the tomatoes by hand as you add them to the Dutch oven and mix well. Saute for about 5 minutes.
• Add the eggplant cubes a little at a time but don't add any of the water that has gathered in the bottom of the bowl. Mix the eggplant cubes and sauteed onions together very well.
• Lower the temperature to medium, cover the Dutch oven and simmer until the eggplant is starting to soften, about 15 minutes. The eggplant will give off a lot of water that will partially cook off.
• When soft and starting to reduce, smash down some of the eggplant with a wooden spoon.
• Add the shrimp and mix well and continue to cook, uncovered, for about 10 or 15 minutes or while the liquid evaporates.
• Remove from the heat and add the bread crumbs a little at a time and mix well. The eggplant should tighten up a little, but don't over do the bread crumbs. Taste for seasoning.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Spread a thin layer of butter inside of an oven proof casserole or baking dish.
• Pour the eggplant mix into baking dish and spread out softly.
• Sprinkle a little bread crumbs on top and place about 6 small dots of butter on top
• Bake in 350 degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until bubbly on edges and browned a little on top.

SHRIMP-STUFFED EGGPLANT ROLLS

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
• Peel 2 of the eggplants and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Dice the remaining eggplant and any scraps; soak the diced eggplant in lightly-salted, cold water. Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and set aside as you prepare the remaining ingredients.
• Pour 3/4 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs into a bowl; set aside. Stir together the flour, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon minced onion, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, and 1/2 teaspoon basil in a bowl; set aside. Beat the egg with 2 tablespoons of water in a separate bowl. Rinse the salt off of the eggplant slices and wipe off excess water. Coat the eggplant slices in the flour mixture, dip into the egg, and press into the bread crumbs. Place the eggplant slices onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the eggplant slices are golden brown and tender, about 10 minutes. Turn once as they cook to brown both sides; set aside and allow to cool until you can easily handle.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in 1 chopped onion and 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic; cook and stir until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the whole jumbo shrimp and cook until pink and no longer translucent in the center, about 5 minutes. Remove the shrimp and set aside. Stir the diced shrimp into the skillet and cook until no longer translucent. Season with 1 pinch garlic powder, 1 pinch onion powder, 1 teaspoon basil, red pepper flakes, and the white wine. Drain the water from the diced eggplant and squeeze out the excess water. Stir the eggplant into the shrimp mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until the eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes; stir in the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of bread crumbs until the cheese has melted.
• To assemble, place one jumbo shrimp onto the center of each eggplant slice. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the stuffing over each jumbo shrimp. Fold the ends of the eggplant over the stuffing and secure with toothpicks. Place the eggplant rolls onto the baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the eggplant rolls are hot in the center, about 5 minutes. Remove the toothpicks before serving.

CHEESY EGGPLANT FLORENTINE (MELANZANE FIORENTINA)

Steps:

• Slice the eggplant 1/2´´ thick.
• Generously salt both sides of the eggplant slices and arrange them on several layers of paper towels.
• Place a pastry board over them, weighted with large cans of juice or fruit, for 1 hour.
• Then thoroughly rinse the eggplant under cold running water and drain on paper towels.
• Pat completely dry.
• Dust the eggplant with flour and saute the slices in hot oil over high heat until brown.
• Layer the eggplant in an oiled 13´´ x 9´´ baking pan with the sauce, mozzarella cheese, and basil.
• There will be 3 layers.
• Reserve some of the cheese for a topping.
• Bake in a preheated 450° oven for 10 to 12 minutes until the dish is bubbly and the cheese slightly browned.

SHRIMP FLORENTINE WITH CARAMELIZED GARLIC

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• To prepare garlic: combine 1/2 t kosher salt and garlic in a bowl. Place garlic mixture on a jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally.
• To prepare shrimp: heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp; saute' 3 minutes or until done. Remove shrimp from pan.
• Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Stir in half and half, broth, cheese, 1/4 teaspoon salt, red pepper, and black pepper. Cook 1 minute or until cheese melts, stirring constantly. Stir in shrimp and spinach; cook 1 minute. Combine shrimp mixture, garlic mixture, and pasta in a large bowl; toss well.