Stuffed Eggplant

I'm making a switch from some of the German recipes that I've been posting to a few recipes from the Greek cookbook that I mentioned a few weeks ago.  Kent and I went to the Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Birmingham with our friends, Caroline and Franklin, in September.  I bought the church's cookbook, The Greeks Have a Recipe for It.  I've been wanting to try some of the recipes and chose two to try recently.  They were both wonderful!  I love eating eggplant, but it can take a long time to cook.  Since the eggplant is sauteed in this recipe, it doesn't take as long to cook as it might in other recipes.  It's also nice that this recipe uses ground chuck instead of more expensive ground lamb like many Greek recipes.  This meal is great to cook for two any night of the week, but guests will also love it since it's a little fancy!

Stuffed Eggplant
Ingredients:
2 long, medium sized eggplant
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. ground chuck
2 tbsp. tomato sauce
 3 tsp. parsley
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup grated Kasseri cheese*
Salt and ppepper to taste

Directions:
Wash eggplant and cut in half lengthwisee.  Scoop out pulp and set aside.  Reserve shell.  Saute onion and garlic in oil until golden (add the garlic after the onion has cooked a few minutes so that the garlic with not begin to burn).  Add meat and continue to cook until brown.  Add tomato sauce, parsley, water, pulp from eggplant, salt and pepper and cook 15 minutes longer, or until most of thee liquid is absorbed.  Remove from stove and fill eggplant shells with meat mixture.  Place in casserole and sprinkle each shell with cheese.  Add water, about 1 cup, to casserole and bake in 350 degrees until shell of eggplant in soft.

*I used Parmesan cheese, which is similar to Kasseri.  Kasseri could probably be found at Greek or Mediterranean grocery stores.