Eggplant and Basil Stuffed Tomatoes

From Vegan Yum Yum by Lauren Ulm | Makes 6 servings as an appetizer or side

This is an easy and elegant starter or side dish. If you use ripe, fresh summer produce, you'll be amazed how much flavor you can get without many ingredients. This is a perfect candidate a balsamic reduction, drizzled over the top just before serving. If the tomatoes fall apart due to slight overcooking, don’t worry. They're still tasty, just not as pretty. Serve them in a small bowl and no one will know the difference.

Ingredients:
6 ripe tomatoes, cored and drained, (see instructions)
8 cups eggplant (2 medium eggplant), unpeeled and cubed about the size of playing dice
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup olive oil (use up to 2 more tablespoons, if needed)
4 slices bread, toasted and cubed (white or your favorite)
2 to 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar for balsamic reduction, if desired

Directions:
Step 1: With the tip of a small paring knife, cut a cone out of the top of the tomato, removing the stem. Carefully remove a bit more of the inside until you see the seeds. Using a knife, a spoon, or your fingers, remove the seeds until you have an empty cavity. Drain them upside-down on a paper towel until ready to stuff.

Step 2: Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Step 3: Toss the eggplant, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a large bowl. Heat a large skillet or wok to high heat. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is very soft, no longer cube-like, and browned. It should be sort of sticky and mushy and much reduced in volume, which can take 10 minutes or longer.

Step 4: Toast your bread, cube it, and then add it to the eggplant along with the basil. Toss until well combined and turn off the heat.

Step 5: Place the tomatoes in a baking dish that has been lightly coated with oil. Fill the tomatoes completely with stuffing, so that it's overflowing out of the tomatoes. Bake, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes until the stuffing is browned on top and the tomatoes are tender. Drizzle with balsamic reduction if desired. Serve.
1/2 cup basil, chiffonade (stack leaves, roll, and slice into thin strips)

Balsamic Reduction
Makes enough reduction for the tomatoes

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Step 1: Heat the balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan on X heat. Don't stand right over the pan, because once it heats up it will start to release some vinegar fumes that are not fun to inhale. Simmer this over medium heat until it's syrupy. It usually takes me about 5 minutes to go from stone-cold pan to syrupy reduction. You'll want to reduce the liquid by half, so in the end you'll have only 2 tablespoons. Use a rubber spatula to stir the vinegar. This will help you stir it once it starts to thicken, and you can see it getting syrupy because it'll start to coat the spatula.

Don't overcook it, keeping in mind that it will thicken a little more once cooled. You can tell you're overcooking it because it'll start bubbling up like sugar (really big, excited bubbles with an increase in volume). That's not what you want! If you think it might be done, or close to done, take it off the heat immediately, place a little on a spoon, blow on it to cool it well, and taste it. It should be syrupy, sweet, tangy, and a little caramelized. You can always put it back on the heat to cook it more, but you can't fix it if you overcook it. If it doesn't taste burnt, but becomes way too thick after it cools, try adding a little bit of water. That should loosen it up and get you back in business. If it does taste burnt, you need to start over. Sorry!