I really hope that one of you reading this enjoys eating eggplant. It seems like nobody in my life – or at least nobody that I regularly eat with – likes eggplant. So I made this meal for myself one night when I was alone in the house and there was no one to complain about it. It was such a flavorful dish, and actually very simple to prepare, so I plan to make this again next time I find myself cooking for one!

While making this dish I realized how infrequently I have the opportunity to cook alone. Not that I’m complaining. I love that my boyfriend enjoys creating these delightful dinners as much as I do, and we have so much fun planning new recipe ideas and seeing our vision come to fruition. We love coming together after work and forgetting about the stresses of the day by absorbing ourselves in tasks like chopping, stirring, seasoning, and perhaps a bit of kissing in between. Then we are rewarded at the end with something delicious that we created together.

But on the flip side, I must say that I enjoy spending some quality time with myself every once in a while. Cooking is my hobby, my passion, and my favorite past-time (other than shopping of course). This recipe was perfect for just one cook in the kitchen – not too complicated or overwhelming but also busy enough to keep you occupied if you want to make an event of it. I highly recommend preparing this dish with your favorite tunes blasting and a generous glass of wine in hand.

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
• 1/4 cup of dry white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 4 ounces of feta cheese, crumbled
• A handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 2 teaspoons of fresh oregano
• 2 teaspoons of fresh Italian parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Cut the eggplant in half and cut out the center, leaving enough meat on the skin to hold its shape (like a boat). Set the cut out pieces aside.
3. Brush the open faced side of the hollowed out eggplants with half of the olive oil, then place them face down on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until soft.
4. While the boats are baking, chop the removed eggplant pieces into little cubes.
5. Heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cubed eggplant and saute for about 3 minutes until they start to soften.
6. Add the wine, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to the skillet and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the wine is mostly cooked out.
7. Remove the hollowed eggplants from the oven and divide the contents of the skillet into each half. Try to flatten the surface so the feta doesn’t go rolling off.
8. Cover each eggplant with the crumbled feta and sliced tomatoes.
9. Broil in the oven until the cheese starts to crisp and brown.
10. Remove from the oven and top it off with the chopped oregano and parsley.