Comfort food comes in many guises, from soup to bakes, crisps to curry, it’s whatever makes you feel all warm and cosy inside and ticks those boxes of feel-good food. This stuffed aubergine dish is comfort food to me. It is hearty and filling and packed with flavour.
Filled with healthy mediterranean veggies, mixed seeds, chilli and rice, this stuffed aubergine makes a full meal in itself and is completely vegan too. Great for those avoiding meat completely or if you are like me and just like to have a few meals per week that are veggie only.
This is one of those recipes that is great for using up bits and pieces in the fridge, like that little bit of cooked rice or quinoa you had for supper last night, and those ends of veggies in the salad drawer.
I bake my aubergine first for thirty minutes so that the flesh is already cooked and tender when I mix it in with the other vegetables and then finish it all under the grill. This gives a lovely blend of textures, the softness of the well cooked aubergine and the crispness of the courgettes, red peppers and onions that are only cooked under the grill. Add in the creaminess of the feta and you have total heaven on a plate.
This stuffed aubergine will serve two people with a green salad on the side. Get creative with your stuffing ideas, just use whatever you happen to have lurking in the fridge. While I have used a few sultanas, you could use dried apricots, raisins, whatever you fancy.
We need comfort food at this time of year and what better than mediterranean flavours to add a bit to warmth to our cold winter months.
Karon x
- 1 aubergine
- 1 tbsp chopped red onion
- 1 tbsp chopped red pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped courgette
- 2 tsp sultanas
- 2 tsp mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower etc)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 chopped tomato
- 2 tbsp crumbled feta
- ½ tsp chopped fresh chilli or pinch dried chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp cooked rice or quinoa
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander
- salt and pepper to taste
- Pierce the aubergine all over with a fork and then wrap in foil and bake in the oven at 180C/350F for 30 minutes.
- Cut in half and scoop out the cooked flesh and chop up into small pieces.
- Mix the cooked aubergine flesh with all other ingredients in a bowl (omit the coriander)
- Stuff all of this back into the aubergine shells and grill for 10 minutes at high heat.
- Serve with a wedge of lemon and scattered with fresh coriander.
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