, Step by step

Lebanese stuffed aubergines with crumbled feta

Spice up your mid-week dinners with this hearty dish packed with fantastic ingredients and flavor.

Mark Stower, Director of Food and Service.

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 50 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 red onion, finely chopped
300g lamb mince
150ml vegetable stock
100g green lentils, cooked
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp harissa paste
1 courgette, diced
5 mint leaves, finely sliced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/4 bunch coriander, chopped
500ml fresh tomato sauce
1 large aubergine, sliced lengthways into 6 pieces
150g feta cheese

Method

Step 1

Heat the oven to 160°C. Place a medium size pan on the stove over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for 1 minute. Then add the lamb mince and cook until lightly browned. Pour off the excess fat.
Step 2

Add the vegetable stock, lentils, garlic and harissa paste and cook for a further 15 minutes over a medium heat. Season with salt and pepper, then add the courgette, mint and lemon juice and zest and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and leave to cool slightly, then add the chopped coriander.
Step 3

Pour the tomato sauce into an ovenproof baking dish.
Step 4

Grill the aubergine slices on a griddle, then place them onto a chopping board. Place a spoonful of the lamb mix at one end of each slice and roll up. Place each rolled aubergine into the tomato sauce. Sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese over and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
Step 5

Serve with a mixed salad and flatbread.

Nutrition

Aubergines, also known as eggplant in America and Australia and brinjal in Asia and South Africa, are used as a vegetable, but are classified botanically as fruits—berries in fact—which makes sense when you think about the tiny seeds that are embedded in their flesh.

They belong to the Solanaceae or nightshade family, as do potatoes and tomatoes.

Records show that aubergines have been eaten in Southern and Eastern Asia for thousands of years, but interestingly, because there are no Greek or Roman words for this vegetable, it is thought that they were not used in the Mediterranean until the Middle Ages when they were introduced by the Arabs. In Europe, the early varieties tended to be white not purple, hence the name ‘eggplant’.

Like most vegetables, aubergines are low in calories, but surprisingly they are not especially rich in any one vitamin or mineral. However, they are a great ingredient in curries and stews, such as ratatouille, and 80 grams counts as one of your 5 a day.

DR JULIET GRAY, COMPANY NUTRITIONIST