Aubergines stuffed with spiced pork

I made these stuffed aubergines for dinner last night, from Domini Kemp in the Irish Times. I guess it took about an hour. It was delicious, and went down well with all of us. The mince stuffing is particularly good (I used pork and veal). It’s going to be my go-to mince recipe from now on.

Aubergines stuffed with spiced pork

The recipe is a bit ambiguous on when you are meant to add the breadcrumbs, so I added these just after the aubergine.

I’m still on the look-out for fresh breadcrumbs for sale in the supermarkets. No luck so far, so I make my own.

Serves 3-4

2-3 aubergines, each weighing 220g approximately

150ml olive oil

Salt and pepper

100g breadcrumbs

80ml milk

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

250g minced pork (and veal as you get in the Belgian supermarkets)

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¾ tsp ground cumin

1 large tomato, roughly chopped

1 dessertspoon red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

50g Parmesan

1 egg

120g grated Cheddar

Chopped parsley, to serve

Preheat an oven to 180 degrees/gas 4. Cut the aubergines in half and place them on a baking tray or two. Score the flesh, drizzle them generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Let them cool down and when they are easily handled, spoon out the flesh and leave it aside in a bowl.

Mix the breadcrumbs and milk together. Sweat the onion in a good two tablespoons of olive oil. Add the minced meat and cook for a moment. Add the garlic and spices and cook for a few minutes. Season well, and then add the vinegar and tomato.

Stir and continue to cook out till the mixture gets quite dry and the juice from the tomato and vinegar disappears. The meat will cook out fully, so don’t worry about this. You are stuffing the aubergines with a fully cooked mixture. Stir in the cooked aubergine (chop up any big bits) and the breadcrumbs.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool for five minutes. Add the Parmesan and beaten egg. Mix well, then spoon the filling into the hollow boats of aubergine. Sprinkle with the cheddar cheese another glug of olive oil, some salt and pepper, and bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling.

Let them cool down for about 10-15 minutes before serving. They are also good cold and they re-heated well the next day at about 180 degrees/gas 4 for 15 minutes. You may want to cover them loosely with foil so the cheese doesn’t brown too much.

A good sprinkle of parsley, some bread, and a mixed green salad make this a wonderful supper dish.

For those hot, summer nights

I have a post written from about 10 days ago, about my plans for a mysterious 3 kilos that seem to have crept onto the bathroom scales over the past few months. The post is currently unpublished as thankfully summer finally arrived, my appetite has vamoosed and with it, about 1.5 of the mysterious 3 kilos.

Today, it is (checks phone) 34 degrees. 34 degrees! Crikey! That’s hot. The in-laws are due any moment for a bbq, and I spent the critical heat hours (ie: midday to 2pm) in the relative coolness of the kitchen rustling up some focaccia, roasting some courgette, aubergine, red onion and tomatoes for a roast veg and bulgur salad and making a Gordon Ramsay lemon tart. I have photos, but first looks and smells are positive!

Roasted vegetable and bulgur salad

For starters, I have a mozzarella, fig, melon and cured meat platter. Open a packet of prosciutto or mixed cured meat and arrange on your dish and add slices of melon, torn balls of mozz and some figs.

Mixed meat, melon, mozzerella and fig platter

Aubergine, spinach and ricotta rolls

I made these vegetarian rolls for dinner last night, and they went down a treat.

Oozing cheesy spinachy yummyness

For four people, you’ll need:

2 aubergines

a bag of fresh spinach (I’m sure that frozen will be fine ;-) )

a tub of ricotta

a jar of tomato sauce – I think I used a Scala one

some parmesan cheese (or whatever is festering at the back of the fridge)

Turn your grill on. Slice the aubergines about 1cm thick slices down the length and lay them on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush the aubergine with a little more oil and grill for about two minutes on each side.

Switch your oven on to 200° and boil the kettle.

Wash your spinach well (the amount of meals I’ve ruined from finding grains of sand in the fresh spinach here is unreal. I find the best way is to fill the sink with water and shake handfuls of spinach through the water). Put it on a large colander and pour some boiling water over the spinach to wilt it. Squeeze the spinach well to get rid of the excess water.

In a bowl, mix the ricotta with a grating of nutmeg and salt and pepper. Mix the spinach through it.

Get a large oven-proof dish ready beside you. Take one of the aubergine slices and put a good spoonful of the cheesy spinach mixture in it and roll the aubergine around to close in all the cheesy goodness. Lay it closed-side down in the dish. Keep going until all the cheese and aubergines are used up.

Pour the jar of sauce over the aubergines and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until piping hot and bubbling and golden.

Devour.