Twice Baked Aubergines

Aubergines are readily available in any supermarket now and are tasty and versatile vegetables.
They can be cooked and enjoyed in their own right, you can cut them up and add them to casseroles or bakes, or, one of my favorite ways to enjoy them, is to have them stuffed.

You can stuff an aubergine with anything you fancy although you must remember, the filling should be cooked beforehand as once the aubergine has been stuffed it takes very little time to cook the actual shell so basically we are reheating or finishing the stuffing.

These stuffed aubergines are satisfying and oh so tasty with middle eastern flavors. If you are vegetarian you could try them with the goats cheese on top (my favorite) or another good melting cheese, or if you are vegan you can top with some vegan cheese which is available in all health food stores and the odd supermarket, failing that you could use breadcrumbs of your choice and maybe even mix them with crushed nuts.


For the Twice Baked Aubergines you will need: for 2 portions as a main dish or you can divide them and get 4 to have as a side dish

1 nice large aubergine
olive oil
sea salt
1 clove garlic

for the filling:  

1 red pepper
1 large beef tomato
150 g mushrooms
1 medium white onion
the innards of the aubergine
1 tablespoon harissa paste
2 tablespoons hummus
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
sea salt, black pepper

How to:

• cut the aubergine in half and scoop out as much of the innards as you can to leave a deep shell
• rub the shell with some salt and leave aside upside down for 10 minutes, the salt helps remove any bitter juices
• rub each shell with the clove of garlic, brush on some olive oil and place the two halves on a baking sheet....if they wobble trim their undersides and make them flat

• peel and chop the onion in nice fine dice, crush and add 2 cloves of garlic
• clean and chop the mushrooms and red pepper....try to keep all the vegetables roughly the same size when chopping
• dice the beef tomato, dice the aubergine innards
• heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook for a few moments until the onion begins to soften
• add the red pepper and mushrooms and continue cooking, once you see the mushrooms beginning to release their juices add the aubergine and tomatoes
• cook for another 10  minutes or so until all the vegetables are nearly fully cooked
• stir in the harissa paste and the hummus....the hummus gives you a sort of sauce that clings to the vegetables and makes it delish! add more harissa paste if you like a lot of heat!
• remove from the heat and place the filling in your aubergine shells......you could always let the filling cool to be used later on...if you do this I suggest wrapping your aubergine shells in clingfilm and storing them in the fridge too.
• so fill your shells, top with your cheese of choice, then bake in a pre-heated oven 180oC for approx 15 - 20 minutes or until you see the edges of your shells soften and wilt and your filling is bubbling a bit, then you know it's heated through correctly
• serve your baked aubergines with some dressed leaves as a main dish, there's really not much need for anything else as there are great flavors and the dish is very filling
• cut them in half if you want to use them as a vegetable side dish.....they are very good with some baked salmon which conveniently can be cooked in the oven at the same time!

Topped with vegan 'cheese'