This was prepared the same way by both of my Cajun grandmothers. We grew our own eggplants and ate this often. It was another way of using the extra ground meat that we always had from the beef and pork that we raised.
EGGPLNT DRESSING
1 pound of ground beef
1/2 pound of pork sausage removed from casing
2-3 large eggplants peeled, diced
1 large onion chopped
5 cloves garlic chopped fine
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 stalk celery chopped
1 cup of rice (You can stretch this a little by adding more rice)
In the pot that you will ultimately cook the dressing in, start cooking the meat. Drain fat when cooked. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic and celery until tender.
In a separate skillet cook eggplant in about 1/4 inch of water. Do not let all of the water cook away until the very end when the eggplant is dark and cooked completely. Some folks like to soak their eggplant in salted water prior to cooking. I don't. Set aside when finished.
Cook rice according to directions and set aside.
When meat and vegetables are just done, add eggplant and rice.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Mix well and cover.
Everything is cooked already so, cook covered on low heat for only 5-6 minutes. Leave the cover on and let it sit for another 10 minutes.
This part may sound a little whacked and is totally optional. We add some sugar to the meat-n-vegetables just prior to adding the rice and eggplant. My guess is that they started doing this because of the occasional bitter eggplant. Anyhow, we've grown to really enjoy it this way. My 4 sons, 4 daughters-in-law and 12 grandchildren wouldn't have it any other way! This meal is delicious without sugar and, I do fix it without sugar if serving to company sometimes. Every time I've served it with the sugar though, they've wiped it out. If you choose this way, use the sugar sparingly. Taste it after adding rice and eggplant and you can always add more sugar before the "10 minute rest" if you want. I never did measure the sugar. Sorry.
