Stuffed eggplants baked in
a yoghurt sauce

I will always remember shooting this feature with the late photographer Minka Firth, while shooting the recipes she recalled that her cousin a ceramist had some 'azure blue' pottery so she jumped in the car, whizzed around the corner and collected some to compliment the food for our shoot !!    

Ingredients

2 eggplants, halved lengthways
½ cup olive oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
1 green pepper, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled,
seeded and chopped
2 Tbsp oregano, chopped
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
½ cup toasted pine nuts
2 Tbsp chopped mint
¼ tsp salt
1 cup natural yoghurt
2 eggs
50g pecorino or parmesan cheese, finely grated
fresh flat-leaf parsley and mint, to serve

Method

Step 1
Preheat oven to 210°C. Scoop most
of the flesh out of each eggplant half,
leaving a ‘shell’ of about 5mm thickness.
(Use a small paring knife to cut around the
flesh first, then scoop it out with a spoon.)
Chop flesh into small rough cubes and set
aside. Brush the insides of the eggplant
shells with olive oil and place on a lightly
oiled baking tray. Place in hot oven for 10
minutes or until just softened and lightly
golden. Remove and turn the oven down
to 180ºC.

Step 2
Heat a frying pan, add 2 Tbsp of the oil
and sauté the onion and green pepper
for a couple of minutes. Add garlic and
sauté for 1 minute. Add 2 Tbsp more
oil and sauté the reserved chopped
eggplant until softened. Add tomato,
oregano, cinnamon and cumin and cook
for another 5 minutes until the tomato has
reduced to a sauce. Tip this mixture into a
bowl and return pan to the heat. Dry-roast
pine nuts on low until lightly golden, then
stir them through the vegetable mixture.
Stir in mint, salt, some freshly ground black
pepper and a little sugar.

Step 3
Put the eggplant shells into a baking dish
– it doesn’t matter if the shells are packed
closely, as this will help them keep their
shape. Pile the eggplant stuffing evenly
into each shell.

Step 4
Beat together yoghurt and eggs. Season
with salt and white pepper; stir in half the
cheese. Pour sauce over eggplants and
sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Step 5
Bake uncovered for 30–40 minutes until
topping is golden brown and bubbling.
Serve hot sprinkled with extra parsley and
mint. Enjoy with a simple salad and some
fresh bread.

VARIATION
For a non-vegetarian meal option,
add 350g minced lamb in step 2, after
sautéeing the garlic. Brown mince and
cook for 4–5 minutes then continue with
the recipe.


 

 Ready in: 60–70 minutes
Serves: 4
Credit: Taste Magazine
Recipe & styling: Tracey Sunderland
Photography: Minka Firth

Tips: Use the large, deep-purple, pear-shaped eggplants, or you could also try this recipe using 6 of the long skinny
eggplants.

Choose firm, plump, shiny and blemish-free eggplants. They should feel heavy to hold in relation to their size. Eggplants are normally used unpeeled – their skins contain high levels of antioxidants. It is not necessary to salt, leave and rinse eggplant as most varieties these days have been specially developed not to be bitter. However, very ripe and wrinkly eggplants are bitter and will need this process.