Stuffed Aubergine

I love aubergines in any way, shape or form, but a lot of people are put off because they think that aubergines must be fried in a lot of oil.  This method shows that you don’t need vast quantities of oil to make a tasty aubergine dish.

Use any leftover vegetables you have available to stuff aubergines. These ones have rice, peas and mushrooms.

For 2 People:
1 large Aubergine
100g Rice
1 Onion
1 clove Garlic
100g Vegetables, diced or sliced if large (I used peas, mushrooms and courgette)
1tbls Tomato puree
1/2tsp Coriander seeds
1/2tbls oil

1. Wash the aubergine and place it in an oven-proof dish in the oven at 180C.  Leave for 30-40 minutes until it is soft and floppy.

2. Meanwhile soak the rice to remove the starch, and boil in a saucepan.  For white rice this will take 10-15 minutes, for brown rice 30-40 minutes.  Add any frozen vegetables you are using towards the end of cooking.

3. Drain the rice and clean out the pan.  Add the oil and fry the onions and garlic until translucent.  Add any remaining fresh vegetables and sautee until lightly cooked.

4. Grind the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar, or crush them with a rolling pin.  Remove the aubergine from the oven, cut in half along its length, and scoop out the flesh, leaving the skin and a little of the flesh to form a hollow ‘boat’.  Chop the aubergine flesh and add it to the pan with the coriander seeds and tomato puree.  Stir well.

5. Add a third of the rice and any cooked frozen vegetables to the pan.  Place the remainder on the bottom of your oven dish, and sit the aubergine shells on top.  Fill the shells with the vegetable mixture.

6. You can either eat this straight away with a big salad, or if you have it, you could sprinkle a handful of grated cheese on the aubergine halves and pop under the grill for a couple of minutes until the cheese bubbles.