TASTY WAYS WITH AUBERGINES

Give me an aubergine and I'll probably either BBQ it or make the Mallorcan vegetable dish tumbet (which is delicious), but Jane Hagan had some more creative ideas when she joined us on the programme on Sunday, September 7.


“These are my favourite vegetable! I could eat them just about every day,” says Jane.

Arabic Stuffed Aubergines

(“I learned this from the cooks on an Arab-owned boat and it's divine!)

Ingredients:

6 aubergines
Virgin olive oil
3 cloves of chopped garlic
¼ teaspoon of ground cumin
500 grams of lamb mince
2 small or 1 large can of sweetcorn
2 large cans of tomatoes, blended with electric blender
1 cup tahina
1 cup plain yogurt
1 chicken stock cube
3 tomatoes sliced

Cut the tops off good firm aubergines. With a peeler, peel off half the skin in a striped pattern.

Halve aubergines and fry in plenty of olive oil. Cook at a medium heat until they are softening but not cooked through. Place in an ovenproof dish skin side down and set aside.

Drain excess oil from pan and add the garlic and fry until softened. Add good pinch of ground cumin and then add minced lamb. Cook through and add the sweetcorn.

Spoon mince onto the aubergines, keeping mince on the aubergines and press it on a little to form
individual units.

In the same pan in which you cooked the mince, put the canned tomato purée and stock cube and bring to the boil, then reduce by about 25 per cent until it thickens. Then add the tahini and yogurt and pour into the dish with the aubergine mince. Try not to pour it over the aubergines but rather around them, so they are “floating” in the sauce. *

Cover the mince with the sliced tomatoes and put into the oven. Cook at 180 degrees for about 20 mins until the aubergines are cooked through. Make sure there are no hard parts in the aubergines as al dente aubergine is not nice!

* This is great for dinner parties as it can all be made even a day before and popped into the oven to finish cooking, or even re-heated just before serving. Do take care not to overcook though as the aubergines seem to shrink and disappear somehow!



Roast aubergine hummusIngredients:

2 aubergines – cut into large chunks
4 cloves of garlic in their skins
2 tomatoes – cut in half
Good splash of olive oil +
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 jar chick peas
½ cup tahini
Juice of a lemon
Salt and pepper
Pinch of cumin
Fresh coriander – a good handful

In an oven roast the vegetables with a good splash of olive oil until nicely cooked through. Allow to cool a little.

In a blender or in a bowl and using a hand blender, add all the ingredients and blend thoroughly. If too thick to blend properly then add a little bottled water. At this point check for flavour as this is not an exact recipe. I always end up adding bits of this and that! I can get carried away with the oil as I love good oil in this, but add according to your taste.

We spread hummus on crusty bread and make salad rolls – brilliant with loads of rocket leaves and roast veggies from last night's dinner!

Recipes courtesy of Jane Hagan of Santanyí


Jan Edwards