Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant

Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant-hollow out an eggplant into a little boat and smother the eggplant pulp with the Holy Trinity and creole seasonings, add some shrimp and bake it to a golden brown! Sometimes called an Eggplant Pirogue, Stuffed Eggplant epitomizes Cajun and Creole cuisines. Talk about good! The best part is that it’s not as difficult as it looks. Here’s how to make Sweet Daddy D’s no-angst recipe for Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant. Prepare to be amazed!

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[Publishers Note: This is an update of the article I wrote originally in October 2018. This recipe has been very popular with readers as well as my family and friends. Always seeking to provide better information for my readers, I've updated and added some information and reformatted photographs for better web viewing. Let me know what you think.]

Eggplant and shrimp transcend all cuisines but are among the stars of South Louisiana cooking. Both are delicious and versatile and given that South Louisiana cooks love to stuff things, it's no surprise that stuffed eggplant is a favorite. Eggplant adapts well to the subtropical climate and fertile soil of South Louisiana.  For centuries, Cajun and Creole cooks have taken vegetables seriously, not treating them as a second thought. As a result, you’ll find eggplant prepared in countless ways in Creole, Cajun, Italian and all the other variations and amalgamations of the South Louisiana cuisines. Its versatility allows it to be used in appetizers, main dishes, side dishes and even in desserts.  Given the legendary bounty of Louisiana's fresh and saltwater seafood, fresh Gulf shrimp are a natural partner for eggplant's unique taste and texture. It’s common to see eggplant and other local vegetables hollowed out and the pulp cooked with other vegetables, meats and seafood. It's all stuffed back in the shell which is used as a vessel to carry all that goodness, just like a pirogue. A pirogue is the ubiquitous Cajun flat bottom boat, narrow like a canoe and used traditionally for trapping and fishing in the shallow bayous of South Louisiana.  If you see Eggplant Pirogues on the menu, get ready for a boat-load of goodness!!

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Here Is What You Need

Purple eggplant-Use Globe Eggplant, also called American Eggplant, or their slightly smaller and thinner relative, the Italian Eggplant. These are what you will likely find at the grocery store and either is good. 

Gulf Shrimp-fresh or frozen. You won’t need large shrimp for this-some mediums or even small work very well in the stuffing.

Vegetables

• The Trinity (yellow onions, bell peppers and celery)
• Green onions (scallions)
• Garlic

Other Ingredients

• Butter (Could substitute olive oil, vegetable oil or bacon grease)
• Stock-you can use chicken, shrimp, seafood or even vegetable stock
• Worcestershire sauce
• Seasoned breadcrumbs

Herb and Spice Blend

• Oregano
• Basil
• Thyme 
• Creole seasoning
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper 
• Bay leaves 

Don’t forget the beer.

Equipment

Heavy bottom Dutch oven, baking dish, prep bowls, baking sheets and cooling racks

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Here Is What You Do

First...you have a beer.  At this point, the important steps of mise en place start with (a beer, and) having a good understanding and plan for getting this delicious dish put together. Pop a beer and read the recipe thoroughly to make sure you understand what ingredients and equipment you’ll need and what you are going to do with each ingredient. Knowing the game plan is a major step in making this a no-angst affair. Start with the eggplant and while they are in the oven prepare the shrimp and other ingredients. 

Prepare the eggplant

You’ll want to scoop out the pulp and leave a shell to hold the stuffing-we use the entire eggplant for this recipe! Preheat the oven to 400-degrees Fahrenheit. Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise and score the meat in a crosshatch pattern with a paring knife.

Brush a little olive oil onto the cut side and place them face down on a baking rack. Roast the cut eggplant in the 400-degree (F) oven for about 40 minutes, or until tender when probed with a fork.

When the pulp is soft when probed, they're done. Let them cool, then scoop out the meat with a spoon or a melon baller leaving about ¼ inch of shell. The hollowed-out eggplant should look like a little pirogue. Set the shells aside. Give the eggplant pulp a rough chop and set it aside.

Check out the Hints and Tips section below for some alternate ways to prepare the eggplant.

Prepare the Shrimp

If needed, peel and devein the shrimp. Rinse them under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Take ¾ of the shrimp and give them a rough chop, leaving the rest whole. Mix in a generous sprinkle of creole seasoning and set them aside until you need them.

Prepare the other ingredients

Chop the Trinity and place all in one bowl, then chop the garlic and green onions and place each in their own bowl. Measure the stock, butter, Worcestershire and breadcrumbs and set those aside. Combine all the ingredients for the Herb and Spice Blend into a small prep bowl. You’re ready, how’s your beer?

Saute the Trinity and other seasonings

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, throw in the trinity (onions, bell peppers and celery) and saute it until beginning to caramelize; about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and green onions and saute until aromatic, about 2 minutes, then mix in about half of the Herb and Spice Blend and the bay leaves. Continue to saute another couple of minutes. This should be smelling really good at this point.

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Add in the eggplant

Add the eggplant pulp to the Dutch oven, stir it well to combine all the ingredients. Reduce the heat to medium and let it start to smother down. Cover the dutch oven and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes as the eggplant starts releasing its liquid, stirring occasionally so it does not stick. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and the stock. Simmer, uncovered, for another 15 to 20 minutes until the stock has reduced and the eggplant is very soft and mash-able. The amount of time this will take will depend on how much, if any, the eggplant was cooked when you scooped it out. 

Add in the shrimp and breadcrumbs

Add the shrimp by hand, a few at a time, stirring to combine before adding more shrimp. When all the shrimp have been added, continue to saute, uncovered, until the shrimp start to turn pink, which will be about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the rest of the Herb and Spice Blend and give it a good stir to make sure everything is mixed well. Add in the breadcrumbs, starting with about half and adding more until you have the consistency of stuffing or a filling, You want it to be sort of sticky. Remove the Dutch oven from the heat, cover and let it sit for about 10 minutes to meld all the flavors. After 10 minutes, remove the lid to allow the eggplant to cool for at least 15 minutes before you stuff the shells. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit.

Load the boats!

Remove the bay leaves from the stuffing. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, stuff the eggplant mixture into the eggplant shells, pushing to fill all the voids until the shells are full. 

When each shell has been stuffed, sprinkle some bread crumbs and 2 or 3 small tabs of butter on top of each. 

Place them on a prepared baking sheet and bake in the 350-degree (F) oven until browning on top, 20 to 30 minutes. When done, take them out of the oven to cool slightly before serving.

That’s all there is to it...simple as that!

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Hints and Tips

There are a few ways to get the pulp out of the eggplant. I prefer the roasting method because I think it adds some richness to the flavor and makes it easier to scoop out the pulp and leave only what you need of the shell. If you don't want to roast them, try parboiling the halved eggplant for about 10-15 minutes (or until they are softened) then scooping out the pulp with a spoon or a melon-baller. It's also OK to scoop out the pulp from a raw eggplant. In any case, try to leave about a ¼ inch or less of the shell without poking a bunch of holes in it (a couple of holes won't hurt anything). Depending on how you get the pulp, the cooking time will vary. 

Eggplant provides a host of potential health benefits-high in nutrients and antioxidants, they provide many important vitamins, are high in fiber and low in calories. Read more about the nutritional benefits of eggplant in this article, The Seven Surprising Benefits of Eggplant. 

The shells or skin of the eggplant are edible and contain most of the nutrients. The skin of an older eggplant may be a little tougher than a young eggplant, but they are all edible. 

Shrimp are good for you, too. They are a good source of protein, Vitamins D, B12 and B6, as well as Iron, Copper and Zinc. Learn more about the health benefits of shrimp by reading Health Benefits of Wild American Shrimp.

Want to make this vegetarian? Just leave out the shrimp and use vegetable stock-it will still be delicious. You could even use some chopped zucchini or mushrooms in place of the shrimp. Check your ingredients, though, to make sure they are qualified as vegetarian just to be sure. With the right breadcrumbs and some olive oil in place of the butter, it could be vegan as well.  I personally do not follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, but this would be a relatively easy recipe to convert. 

Leftover Stuffed Eggplant can be kept in the fridge for 3 to 5 days, just make sure they are kept in an airtight container. They can be reheated in the microwave.

I don’t recommend freezing uncooked eggplant because of their high water content. 

Cooked Stuffed Eggplant can be frozen for up to 3 months. I recommend that you freeze them individually on a sheet pan, then wrap the individual eggplant to be airtight (best to use a vacuum sealer). To reheat, unwrap the eggplant and place the frozen eggplant in a baking dish, cover with aluminum foil. Place the baking dish in a cold oven and set it to 350 degrees (F). The eggplant will start to defrost as the oven warms to temperature. Bake for 45 minutes or until heated all the way through.  

Remember that most commercial creole seasonings and stocks can have high salt content, so make sure that you taste the stuffing before you add any more salt. The eggplant and the shrimp will absorb salt, so make sure to test before and after you have added the shrimp.

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Yeah You Right!

Recipe

Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant

Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant-hollow out an eggplant into a little boat, smother the eggplant pulp with the Holy Trinity and creole seasonings, add some shrimp. Stuff it all back into the eggplant shell and bake it to a golden brown!

4.75 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Cajun, Creole

Keyword: stuffed eggplant

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 Servings

Calories: 260kcal

Author: Sweet Daddy D

Here's What You Need

• 1 pound medium shrimp peeled, de-veined and rinsed
• 3-4 whole purple eggplants See Notes
• 4 tablespoons Butter
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• ½ medium green pepper chopped
• 2 stalks Celery chopped
• 1 bunch green onions chopped
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 cup Stock See notes
• 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

Herb and Spice Blend

• 1 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1 teaspoon dry basil
• ½ teaspoon dry thyme
• 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning plus some for the shrimp
• 2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves

Here's What You Do

To prepare the eggplant

• Slice whole eggplant lengthwise. Cut a cross-hatch in the eggplant with a sharp utility knife and brush some olive oil over the eggplant. (See Recipe Notes)
• Place the eggplant, cut side down on a baking rack and place in a preheated 400 degree (F) oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the eggplant meat is soft.
• Allow the eggplants to cool. Scoop out the pulp, leaving about ¼ inch of the shell-resembling a little boat.
• Chop the scooped-out eggplant and set aside.

Prepare the shrimp

• Peel, de-vein and rinse the shrimp, then pat dry with paper towels.
• Chop about ¾ of the shrimp into small pieces, leave the remainder whole.
• Mix with some creole seasoning and set aside.

Prepare the stuffing

• Heat butter in a dutch oven over medium-high heat until bubbly.
• Saute the onions, bell peppers and celery in the butter until beginning to caramelize, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add the garlic and green onions and saute until aromatic, about 2 minutes.
• Mix in about half of the Herb and Spice Blend and the bay leaves. Saute for about 2 minutes.
• Add in the chopped eggplant; reduce heat to medium, cover the dutch oven and slow simmer about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add the Worcestershire sauce and the stock, uncover and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until the eggplant is very soft and mash-able. (See Recipe Notes)
• Add in the shrimp, mix well and saute until the shrimp start to turn pink, simmer about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Stir in the breadcrumbs, starting with about half and adding more until you have the consistency of a filling.
• Add in the rest of the Herb and Spice Blend, mix well.
• Remove the Dutch oven from the heat, cover and let sit for about 5 minutes.
• Remove the lid and allow the eggplant to cool about 15 minutes before stuffing. Remove bay leaves.

Stuff eggplant and bake

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• With a spatula or wooden spoon, stuff the eggplant mixture into the eggplant halves, pushing to fill all the voids.
• Once all the filling has been used, sprinkle some bread crumbs on top and place 2 or 3 small tabs of butter on top of each.
• Place in the 350-degree oven and Bake until browning on top,

Recipe Notes

Use a purple (either Globe or Italian) eggplant for this recipe, and you could actually substitute zucchini with a slight change in the flavor profile.

Slice the eggplant lengthwise through the center of the stem. With a sharp knife, cut a crosshatch in the meat. This will help get some olive oil into the eggplant for baking.  The trick is not using too much olive oil as the eggplant will soak it up and all of a sudden you've got way too much olive oil. Just a nice little brush all over the cut side will do the trick.

How long you'll need to smother the eggplant with the seasonings and the stock will depend on how tender the eggplant is to start. If you left it in the oven until it's very tender, it won't take long. If its a little tough or raw, it will take longer. Either way, make sure to cook the eggplant until very tender before stuffing.

For the stock, you can use chicken, shrimp, vegetable or seafood. 

Remember that most commercial creole seasonings have a high salt content, so make sure that you taste the stuffing before you add any more salt.

Leftover stuffed eggplant can be refrigerated 3 to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a 350-degree (F) oven, covered with foil for about 20-30 minutes or until warmed completely through.

Freeze cooked stuffed eggplant separately, then store in a vacuum-sealed bag. Place in a 0-degree (F) freezer for up to 3 months. The eggplant may be reheated from frozen in a 350-degree (F) oven, covered with foil for about 45 minutes or until warmed completely through.

Nutrition

Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 212mg | Sodium: 1795mg | Potassium: 312mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1102IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 176mg | Iron: 3mg