A filling appetizer or small main dish; it's your choice!

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 C. tomato sauce
* 8 baby eggplants
* 12 oz. ground beef chuck
* 2 oz. chopped salami
* 1 lg. egg
* 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
* 1/3 C. plain bread crumbs
* 1/4 C. grated parmesan cheese
* 2 Tbs. chopped parsley
* salt
* pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 12x9x2-inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Trim the tops off the eggplants and cut them in half lengthwise. Add the eggplants to the water with salt to taste. Simmer until the eggplants are softened, 4-5 minutes. Place the eggplants in a colander to drain and cool.

With a small spoon, scoop pulp out of eggplants, leaving a 1/4-inch shell. Chop the pulp and place it in a large bowl. Arrange shells in the baking dish skin-side down. Add the beef, salami, egg, garlic, bread crumbs, cheese, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the mixture into the eggplant shells, smoothing the tops. Spoon tomato sauce over the eggplants. Bake until the filling is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Serve.

Serves 4-6.

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