Aubergine with Garden Veg

Originally I was inspired by a Middle Eastern recipe, but then we had lots of fresh garden veg that M had grown that we needed to use, so this turned into something completely different, but tasty.

 

Ingredients:

2 aubergines

olive oil

salt

mint

1 onion or 2 shallots

4 cloves garlic

1 courgette

6-8 runner beans

8-10 cherry tomatoes and/or 1-2 large tomatoes

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

½ cup water

 

Instructions:

1. Wash the aubergines and halve them. Warm some oil in a frying pan and fry the aubergines on each side for 4-5 minutes over medium heat. Add some salt and mint when you turn the aubergines over.

2. Meanwhile, peel and chop the onion and garlic. Wash and slice or chop the courgette, beans, and tomatoes.

3. Remove the aubergines from the pan, then add the other veg and more olive oil. Cook it for a few minutes, adding more mint and a dash of salt, plus the lemon juice and sugar.

4. Add the aubergines to the pan again, along with the water and more olive oil (3-5 tbsp oil). Cover with the lid and leave to simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Check the aubergines. If not tender, leave to cook longer, adding more water and/or oil as needed.

6. Serve on its own or over rice.

Aubergine Pate

This is great as a dip or spread, especially when with people who are busy munching on caviar or liver pate or similar. You can vary it with different spices or by using yogurt instead of tahini.

 

Ingredients:

1 aubergine

olive oil

sea salt

1-2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp tahini, optional

1 tsp mint

1-2 tsp honey

1 tsp chilli powder or flakes

 

Instructions:

1. Wash and slice the aubergine, then drizzle it with olive oil and salt. Roast at 200 C for about 25 minutes, until soft. You can remove the peel if you prefer.

2. Mix it in a food processor with the other ingredients and more olive oil until smooth.

Aubergine and Spinach with Garlic Aioli

The only time-consuming part here is roasting the aubergine. But put it in the oven, go off to do something else, then come back and throw the meal together.

 

Ingredients:

2 aubergines

olive oil

water

giant couscous (about 25-35 g per person)

50-100 g fresh spinach

garlic aioli (from previous post)

herbs and spices (I like mint and cinnamon)

 

Instructions:

1. Wash the aubergines and slice the skin, but not through to the flesh. Rub with a little olive oil and roast for 30-45 minutes at 200 C, until soft and falling apart.

2. Boil the water, pour it over the giant couscous, and simmer for 6-8 minutes, with the lid on, until soft. Add the spinach and put the lid back on, so the spinach wilts.

3. Remove the flesh from the aubergines and add it to the pan.

4. Mix in the aioli and herbs.

5. Mix everything together, then serve.

Chinese Aubergine

I was looking for a healthier way to make aubergine, since it soaks up oil when you fry it or stir-fry it, and I came up with this idea. It’s perfect over rice. It tastes like one of my favourite Chinese dishes.

 

Ingredients:

1-2 tsp ginger

4-5 garlic cloves

1 vegetable stock cube

water

2 aubergines

lemon juice

sesame oil

spring onions

 

Instructions:

1. Chop the ginger and peel and chop the garlic. Dry fry them lightly with the vegetable stock cube.

2. Add about 1 cup of water.

3. Wash and slice the aubergines and add them to the pot, along with more water, so they are just covered.

4. Cover the pot and steam the aubergine in the flavourful brother until tender. Remove the lid, increase the heat, and boil away most of the liquid.

5. Season with lemon juice, sesame oil, and sliced spring onions.

Spicy Aubergine Stew

The spices and herbs here can be varied as you like – add more chilli peppers, if you want it hotter, or use garlic or cinnamon or mustard or anything else. The veg can be varied too. I served this over couscous.

Ingredients:

1 onion

oil

1 tsp sugar

2-3 tsp chopped ginger

1-2 tsp coriander (fresh, frozen, or dried)

1 chilli pepper

1 red pepper

2 aubergines

liquid (water is fine; I’ve used rice milk)

1-2 tsp dried mint

Instructions:

1. Peel and dice the onion, then sweat it in the oil in a large saucepan. Add the sugar after a few minutes.

2. Add the ginger and coriander. Wash and dice the peppers and aubergines and add them to the pan.

3. Add a little liquid. Cook over low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring now and then. If it is dry, add some more liquid. You don’t want the veg to stick to the pan.

4. Season with the mint. Serve with rice or couscous, as desired.

Aubergine and Shallot Quinoa

This is good as a main course or a side dish. It’s easy and healthy, too.

Ingredients:

2-3 shallots

oil (I used some coconut oil and some sesame oil, for a nice combination of flavours)

1 aubergine

quinoa

water

Instructions:

1. Dice the shallots and fry them lightly in oil.

2. Dice and add the aubergines and brown in the oil.

3. Cook the quinoa in the water according to the instructions on the package.

4. Serve the quinoa with the vegetables.

Sweet Potato and Aubergine Curry

I had sweet potatoes leftover after making the pancakes I posted the other day, so I thought I’d make a curry with them. I also had an aubergine that was verging on too old, so I decided to use it up. I wasn’t sure how well they’d go together, but luckily, it actually did work out quite well. The sweet potato tasted great with the spicy curry sauce and I would like to try it with courgette as well some time.

Ingredients:

1 aubergine

1 sweet potato

oil

1-3 tbsp red curry paste, depending on taste

1 tin coconut milk

rice

water

Instructions:

1. Wash and dice the aubergine. Peel and chop the sweet potato. If you want, you can boil it for 5-10 minutes first, to soften it.

2. Stir-fry the vegetables in oil until soft, then add some red curry paste and a bit of the coconut milk. Continue cooking.

3. Cook the rice in water. When it’s almost done, add about 1 tsp of the curry paste to flavour it and some of the coconut milk.

4. Add the remainder of the curry paste and coconut milk to the vegetables.

5. Serve the vegetables over the rice.

Aubergine Quiche

I like to play around with different quiches/pies/tarts. I like how you make one large one and then have enough food for several days. Since I first wrote this recipe, we’ve stopped using dairy at home because it seems that M feels better without it. So we’ve been trying out various soy “cheeses”. I’m not keen on them all, but many work pretty well in dishes such as quiches or omelettes. Do experiment and see what you like.

Ingredients:
1 portion cornmeal pastry (see previous recipe)
1 aubergine
1 handful cherry tomatoes
50 g spinach
1 tsp parsley
oil
1 tbsp honey
100 g cheese (you can use any type – I used up leftover blue cheese and cheddar)
3 eggs
200 ml milk or cream
pepper

Instructions:
1. Roll out the dough into an oven-safe dish.
2. Wash and dice the aubergine. Wash and halve the tomatoes. Fry the aubergine, tomatoes, spinach, and parsley in oil. After a few minutes, add the honey. Fry another 10 or so minutes.
3. Crumble or chop the cheese. Mix it with the eggs and milk or cream and season with pepper.
4. Put the vegetables on the pastry. Top with the egg mixture.
5. Bake at 180 C for 30-40 minutes.

Ratatouille

No, this is not a post about the Pixar film, cute though that was. Instead, this is the actual recipe for ratatouille, or at least ratatouille how I made it recently. It’s good on its own or over rice or with garlic bread. And if you have leftovers, they’re fantastic because the flavours have extra time to meld. I love the vegetal smell of aubergine and it works so well to combine it with other vegetables.

When I was out of town recently, M made this recipe a number of times. That suggests that it’s pretty tasty!

Ingredients:
1 onion
olive oil (you need quite a bit for this recipe, so don’t make this when you’ve just got dregs left in the bottle)
1 tsp sugar
1 aubergine
2 peppers (I used red and yellow to get a nice colour to the ratatouille)
1 courgette
2-3 tomatoes or a handful of cherry tomatoes
3-5 garlic cloves (depends on how garlicky you like it)
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. Dice the onion and sauté it in olive oil in a large pot for about 5 minutes. Then add the sugar and sauté for a few more minutes.
2. Wash and chop the aubergine into small cubes and add it to the pot. Wash and dice the peppers and add them as well. Sauté for about 30 minutes.
3. Wash and slice the courgette and add it. After a few moments, wash, chop, and add the tomatoes. Thinly slice the garlic and add the pieces.
4. Thinly slice the garlic and add the pieces. Sauté another 10 or so minutes.
5. Season with salt and pepper.

Aubergine Stir-Fry

Aubergine is not the typical ingredient in a stir-fry, but it works well as a base for other flavours. Here, for example, I give it a slightly Asian taste with miso paste and udon noodles.

And I like to eat a spoonful of peanut butter while cooking for an extra shot of protein.

Ingredients:
1 large aubergine
salt
oil
1 package sugar snap peas
5-6 radishes
other veg as desired
1 tbsp miso paste
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp yogurt
1 package udon noodles
chilli flakes

Instructions:
1. Wash and chop the aubergine into small pieces. Salt the pieces lightly and then fry them in oil, stirring often, for 8-10 minutes.
2. Wash and add the sugar snap peas. Wash, slice, and add the radishes. Add any other veg. Stir-fry another 5-10 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add the miso, peanut butter, and yogurt. Mix well.
4. Add the noodles and stir-fry for another 2 or 3 minutes. Season with chilli flakes.

Stuffed Aubergine

I’ve never been a great fan of peppers (perhaps because I remember the green peppers my mother used to stuff with rice and ground meat, and which she used to leave for me and my father when she was going out of town for work), but I am trying to use them in recipes more these days. I think it’s important to challenge yourself and expand your tastes, so I frequently try new ingredients or new recipes. In this case, I used a red pepper as part of the stuffing for an aubergine and I was quite pleased with the results.

Ingredients:
1 aubergine
oil
1 red pepper
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp parsley
2 tsp sugar
balsamic vinegar
pumpkin seeds
nigella (onion seeds)
black pepper
2 tbsp yogurt

Instructions:
1. Wash and halve the aubergine, then rub it in oil. Wrap it in aluminium foil and roast it for 30 minutes at 200 C.
2. Meanwhile, slice the pepper, onion, and garlic and fry the pieces in a little oil with the parsley and sugar. After 10 minutes, season with the vinegar, seeds, pepper, and yogurt.
3. Take the aubergine out of the oven and scoop the flesh out, leaving the shell intact. Chop the flesh and add it to the pepper mixture. Stir and cook for a few more minutes.
4. Fill the aubergine skins with the stuffing and bake for another 5-10 minutes, then serve.

Baked Aubergine Casserole

This was inspired by a recipe I saw in the Waitrose grocery store magazine. I adjusted it to our tastes and made it a bit healthier (spelt flour instead of white, for example). Next time, I’d add black olives too, as that would suit the flavours of the aubergine and feta.

Ingredients:
1 aubergine
1 onion
3-5 garlic cloves
oil
1 cauliflower
smoked paprika
black pepper
ground mustard
1 package crushed tomatoes
100 g feta cheese
200 g Greek yogurt
3 tbsp flour
2 eggs

Instructions:
1. Wash the aubergine and dice it. Peel and chop the onion and garlic, too. Fry all of these things in the oil for about 5-8 minutes.
2. Wash the cauliflower and break it into florets. Add it to the pan.
3. Season with the spices according to your taste. Add the tomatoes. Cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Crumble the cheese and mix into the yogurt. Blend in the flour and beat in the eggs.
5. Lightly oil a casserole dish. Add the vegetables to it, then top the veg with the feta mxture.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes at 200 C.

Pasta with Roasted Aubergine, Fennel, and Garlic

This is a simple meal that’s healthy and full of flavour. The only unhealthy bit is the cheese, but you don’t need much of it anyway.

Ingredients:
1 aubergine
olive oil
salt
1 fennel
2-3 garlic cloves
1 carton chopped tomatoes
pasta (about 75 g per person)
water
cheese, optional (strong cheddar works well)

Instructions:
1. Wash the aubergine, rub it with olive oil and salt, and place it in aluminium foil. Roast it for an hour at 200 C.
2. Chop the fennel and garlic and fry it lightly in oil. Add the tomatoes.
3. Boil the pasta in the water.
4. Take the aubergine out of the oven and chop it, then add it to the vegetable mix.
5. Serve the pasta with vegetables over it. Grate cheese on top if desired.

Pasta with Creamed Aubergine, Mascarpone, and Spinach

Pasta with vegetables is about as easy as it gets for dinner, so this is perfect for a weeknight. It’s also healthy, especially if you use whole-wheat pasta or rice pasta, and go easy with the mascarpone. I like to separate the spinach so some is cooked with the pasta and some is mixed in with the aubergine, as it gives them different textures.

Ingredients:
pasta (50-75 g per person)
1 portion creamed aubergine (see yesterday’s post)
½ cup mascarpone
100 g spinach

Instructions:
1. Make the pasta according to the directions on the package (i.e. boil it until al dente).
2. Warm the aubergine with the mascarpone and the spinach.
3. Serve the aubergine over the pasta.

Creamed Aubergine

I love aubergine (or eggplant, as I grew up calling it) and I love it when it’s been creamed. It tastes so rich, but it’s actually very healthy and there is no real cream in it. It’s great with pita or over pasta or as a base for a stew. You can serve tofu or even fish on a bed of creamed aubergine.

Ingredients:
1 aubergine
olive oil
salt
lemon juice

Instructions:
1. Rub the aubergine with olive oil and salt, then wrap it in aluminium. Bake for about an hour at 220 C.
2. Using a hand mixer, blend the aubergine until it is creamy, adding in more olive oil (about 3 tbsp). If you wish, you can peel it first, but I like it with the peel.
3. Season with lemon juice.
4. Eat on toast or with pita or use it with pasta (see tomorrow’s post).

Pasta with Aubergine and Ricotta Cheese

I saw a recipe for a dish called pasta alla norma, which had an aubergine and ricotta sauce over pasta. Aubergines and ricotta go well together, so I thought I’d try that, but as we are aiming to eat less gluten, I used rice pasta. Pasta made from rice is pretty sticky, so be careful not to overcook it.

Ingredients:
2 aubergines
olive oil
salt
sugar
1 onion
4-6 garlic cloves (depending on how garlicky you like it)
1 tbsp fresh or frozen parsley
1 tbsp fresh or frozen basil
about 100 g pasta per person (I used rice pasta, as we are trying to eat less gluten)
2 packages (about 400 g each) crushed tomatoes
1 package (about 200 g) ricotta cheese
black pepper to taste
chilli pepper to taste
paprika to taste

Instructions:
1. Wash and dice the aubergines, then toss with olive oil, salt, and sugar. Bake for about 40 minutes at 180 C.
2. Meanwhile, dice the onion and garlic, and fry with the parsley and basil in olive oil.
3. Set the pasta on to boil. It will take 8-12 minutes, depending on what type of pasta you are using.
4. Add the tomatoes to the onion and garlic and warm gently.
5. Add the aubergine pieces to the tomatoes, then mix in the ricotta.
6. Season with black pepper, chilli, and/or paprika to taste, then serve the sauce over the pasta.

Vegetable Lasagna

Lasagna is such a simple dish to prepare and people tend to find it quite comforting. If I am having guests for dinner after a long day of work, I frequently will put together a lasagna the night before. Then when we’ve gathered for dinner, I just put it in the oven and let it bake while I pull together a salad. It’s also a good dish to bring over to people who might be going through a difficult time and who might not have the time or energy to cook. While this recipe makes one pan’s worth, M showed me how it also can be made into individual, freezer-ready portions. Label the packages and give the recipient instructions for baking it. Such a gesture will be appreciated.

You can easily vary the vegetables; I’ve sometimes used fennel for a surprising anise taste, and carrots work too. It all depends on what you’re in the mood for.

Ingredients:
1 onion
oil (any kind works)
1 tsp sugar
1 aubergine
1 courgette
1 tbsp parsley or basil
black pepper
1 tin/bottle tomato passatta
lasagna sheets
1package mozzarella
50 g cheddar cheese

Instructions:
1. Chop the onion and fry it in oil. After a few minutes, add the sugar.
2. Chop the aubergine and courgette into matchstick-sized pieces. Add them and the herbs to the frying pan. You may need to add more oil too. Fry for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with black pepper.
3. Lightly oil a casserole dish or other tin, then put some passatta on the bottom. Place a layer of lasagna sheets on the bottom.
4. Top with some of the fried vegetables, then shred cheese over it. Place another layer of pasta sheets over that, then add more vegetables and more cheese. Do this until you’ve used up all the vegetables and cheese, topping the lasagna with one last layer of pasta and a lot of shredded cheese.
5. Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes at 210 C, then cut in slices and serve.

Mediterranean Casserole with Tofu

I had tofu that needed to be used, so when I read about a Provencal casserole with aubergine and chickpeas, I decided to combine that with my tofu. I also added a handful of cherry tomatoes, some pitted Kalamata olives, and garlic. I cooked it all in one dish in the oven, then served it with thick Greek yogurt and a garlic baguette. It was a fast and filling meal with a nice Mediterranean flavour.

Ingredients:
1 aubergine
olive oil
sea salt
2-3 garlic cloves
handful of cherry tomatoes (6-8)
handful of pitted black olives (4-6)
1 tin chickpeas
1 container tofu (I had marinated tofu, but this would be fine with plain as well)
Greek yogurt and garlic baguette to serve with the casserole

Instructions:
1. Wash and chop the aubergine into matchsticks. Toss the aubergine in oil, sprinkle with salt, and roast it in an oven-safe casserole dish for 15 minutes at 210 C.
2. Meanwhile, chop the garlic, tomatoes, and olives. Add them to the aubergine. Drain and add the chickpeas, and chop then add the tofu. Stir all the ingredients together and add more oil.
3. Cook for another 15 minutes at 200 C.
4. Serve with yogurt and garlic baguette.