Stuffed Aubergines
This simple stuffed aubergines recipe is a delicious and tasty way to enjoy this healthy fruit. Aubergines are quite often purple in colour.
The aubergine, or the ‘eggplant’ as it is known in the USA, contrary to popular belief, is not actually a vegetable but is in fact a fruit. Although it is often used as a vegetable in many meals, its botanical definition is as a berry.
In some other countries in Asia and South Africa, it is known as ‘brinjal’. Hence the brinjal bhaji.
This aubergine fruit is however not always purple in colour and can be white, yellow, green or even black.
This can be useful if you are trying to provide some colour variation at the dinner table 😃
Are aubergines good for you?
The eggplant is a cheap and healthy alternative to some of the other vegetables we eat in our normal diet. It is high fibre and low calorie and is full of nutrients.
So it can make a good healthy contribution to any balanced diet. The flesh of the aubergine is quite rubbery until cooked. But beware it can be quite filling!
The taste of aubergine is very mild when cooked, which is why it needs something extra in the filling to make it interesting. I think this recipe using some lightly spiced ground beef and a topping of cheese does the trick.
After making this recipe I shall even be adding this fruit to my weekly grocery shop.
Can you eat Aubergine skin?
The great thing about this stuffed fruit is that you CAN eat the skins, just like with baked potatoes.
But you need to leave the area around the stalk which is not really edible.
My stuffed eggplant recipe uses some basic ingredients, all of which are present in my fridge/freezer, apart from the eggplants which I bought especially.
To make it a bit more authentic you could always replace the minced beef with some minced lamb, depending on your preference and budget.
The optional HP sauce is really just a nice little twist I added just to give a bit more oomph to the taste of the eggplant filling.
Really this recipe is so good that I shall be making it more regularly now. I hope you will try it too! If you do, remember you can eat the skins 😃
I hope you enjoy this. If you do try and make this, then please let me know how you get on in the comments section below. Please let me know what you added to improve the recipe somehow!
How to make stuffed eggplant
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Stuffed Aubergines
These stuffed aubergines (eggplants) are very quick to prepare and taste delicious. An easy and yummy meal for the family. Remember to eat the skins!
Ingredients
- 2 aubergines (eggplants)
- 300g ground beef
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large red onion, finely chopped
- 100g button mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 50 g grated cheddar cheese
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp HP sauce (optional)
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
- Wash the aubergines. Then cut the aubergines lengthways into two pieces. Scoop out the flesh, leaving about 1 cm in the skin. Chop the aubergine flesh and set it aside on a plate.
- Place the aubergine skins on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper and put in the oven for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the aubergine flesh in a wok with some olive oil until it is soft. Then add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes before setting aside.
- In the same pan cook the onion for two minutes then add the minced beef and cook until browned all over.
- Then add the mushrooms, chilli, red wine vinegar, cumin, nutmeg, tomato puree, ketchup, and HP sauce and cook for a further 5 minutes. If the mixture is too dry then slowly add some water to loosen it up.
- Then finally add the cooked aubergine flesh back to the pan and mix well. Season to taste. Cook for a further minute then remove from the heat.
- Remove the aubergine skins from the oven and carefully fill them with the stuffing mix. Then add the cheddar cheese to the top and return to the oven for 20 minutes.
Notes
Serve with some green salad.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 563Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 104mgSodium: 783mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 9gSugar: 14gProtein: 36g
This nutrition information was automatically calculated by Nutritionix, but may not be 100% accurate.