Russian Cookbook

4 medium eggplants
1 large red pepper (capsicum), cored and seeded
1 small onion, peeled
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
1/4 cup celery leaves, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 hot red chili, diced
5 medium tomatoes
1/4 cup of corn oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and scrape out most of the seeds.

Peel, seed and chop the tomatoes; dice the red pepper and the onion. Place them in a bowl with the minced herbs, celery leaves, garlic and chili.

Stir in the salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of oil. Mix well.

Stuff the eggplants with this mixture and place in a large skillet. Add about 1/4 cup of water to the bottom of the pan. Drizzle the eggplant halves with the remaining to tablespoons of olive oil. Cover the skillet and simmer for about 1 hour.

To serve, slice each stuffed half eggplant in half lengthwise.

1. Stuffed Eggs with Cheese (Yaitsa farshirovannie s sirom)
2. Russian Eggplants Spread (Baklazhannaya Ikra)
3. Russian Ratatouille (Rotatui, Ovoshchnoe Ragu)
4. Green Armenian Salad
5. Dimlama (Uzbek Stew)