Stuffed Aubergine Platter

Serves: 4
Cooks in: 60 minutes
Difficulty: 2/10
Gluten free

Ingredients

4 Aubergines, cut in half lengthways
1 tbs Miso Paste
2 tbs Maple Puree
3 tbs Cooking Oil

For the stuffing 

1 tbs Cooking Oil
1 Red Pepper, cubed
1 Courgette, cubed
1 Red Onion, cubed
1 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Spring Rosemary, chopped fine
1 tbs Fresh Thyme Leaves
Zest of 1 Orange
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground All Spice
1/2 Tsp Cayenne  
4 Tomatoes, cubed
4 tbs Pine Nuts
1 & 1/2 cups/225g Quinoa or Cous Cous, cooked
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper 

Tahini Dressing

3 tbs Tahini
1/2 cup/120ml Cold Water
Juice Half a Lemon
Pinch Seasoning

Parsnip Crisp (optional)

1 Parsnip, Peeled
3 tbs Vegetable Oil
Pinch Salt & Pepper

To Garnish

Seeds from half a Pomegranate
Handful Toasted Walnuts
Fresh Rosemary Leaves 

Method

Line a baking tray & preheat your oven to 180 degrees C.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the miso, maple & 2 tablespoons of the oil. Using a fork or small whisk to make it smooth.

Preheat a griddle pan and add the remaining oil. When the pan is very hot add the aubergines cut side down (do this in batches if your pan is small). Char the aubergine for around 3 minutes on both sides. Once charred place the aubergine cut side up on the lined baking tray.

Repeat the process until you’ve charred all the aubergine halves.

Generously coat the miso mix over the top of the aubergines, then place them into the oven to cook through for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the stuffing. Preheat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add a touch of oil followed by the onion, garlic, pepper & courgette. Cook the mix, stirring often for 2 minutes before adding the herbs, spices & orange zest. Cook the mix for an additional 4-5 minutes or until softened. 

Stir in the tomatoes, quinoa, pine nuts & passata then turn off the heat.

Remove the aubergines from the oven. Carefully (as they are very hot) squish down the centre of the aubergine using a fork. Try to make a deep channel with around a 1 cm boarder. I much prefer doing it this way as I don’t want to risk losing any flavour which could happen if you scoop the filling out the traditional way.

Spoon the vegetable stuffing mix generously into the aubergines. Then place them back into the over for a further 15 minutes.

If you are serving your stuffed aubergine with crispy parsnips make them now.

Using a swivel peeler, peel the parsnip flesh into ribbons. Add them to a bowl and pour over the oil. 

Sprinkle with seasoning and give it a good mix, making sure everything has a good coating.

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Then lay the parsnip ribbons on the tray. You don’t have to be overly neat just make sure they aren’t all on top of one another. Place the parsnips in the oven on the middle shelf for 10-12 minutes. Alternatively for additional crispness, you can shallow dry the parsnip ribbons.

Just before serving make your tahini dressing by simply mixing together all the ingredients using a fork in a small mixing bowl. Check seasoning before serving.

When the aubergines are ready, plate them up on a serving platter & generously top them with tahini dressing, crispy parsnip, fresh thyme, pomegranate seeds & toasted walnuts.

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