When I first made this dish for Frase, he was blown away by the flavours. It may take a little longer than most of the other recipes in this book but it is well worth the extra effort. The fresh, herbie yoghurt dressing paired with the spicy, nutty and savoury flavour of the stuffing in a crispy eggplant skin is just magic. This recipe is best enjoyed straight away. But, any leftover stuffing freezes well and is also yummy rolled into balls and baked.
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
STUFFED EGGPLANTS
2 large eggplants
½ head (about 200g) cauliflower florets
300g mushrooms, sliced
½ cup (50g) walnuts
1 brown onion, diced
½ cup dried cranberries
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons cumin
YOGHURT DRESSING
¾ cup (190ml) coconut yoghurt*
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped
½ lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon maple syrup*
½ teaspoon garlic powder
TO SERVE
1 tablespoon each coriander and mint
1 pomegranate
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 lime, quartered
Pre-heat oven to 180°C/356°F fan forced. Slice eggplants lengthways and scoop out the flesh, saving it for the stuffing.
Place halves skin-side down on a baking paper-lined tray. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes while you prepare the rest.
To make the stuffing, add the saved eggplant flesh, cauliflower florets, mushrooms and walnuts to your food processor and pulse until you get a ricelike consistency. Heat a non-stick frypan.
Combine the eggplant mixture, diced onion, cranberries, salt and cumin in a frypan.
Cook mixture over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
Remove the eggplant skins from the oven and stuff the eggplants with the cooked mixture. Return to the oven to bake for a further 30 minutes.
Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.
Once the eggplants are done, drizzle with yoghurt dressing and scatter with extra fresh herbs, pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts. Serve with a few wedges of lime.
This recipe was published with permission in Issue 66 of The Art of Healing magazine. It is an extract from Whole by Harriet Birrell published by Hardie Grant Books. Photographer: © Nikole Ramsay.
