I found this Margaret Fulton recipe that includes roasted eggplant, so it
has a different flavour to most mince recipes.
It can be quite flexible - depending
on what vegetables are in your fridge
and what type of mince you select to cook. I have made a few alterations to the
original.
You could serve this on a large platter as a one-dish meal because the
vegetables are cooked with the mince and the salad is incorporated into the presentation
of the dish.
Because it does not need to be served piping hot, it could be a good
option for a summer dinner as an alternative to a salad dish.
Serves
5 -6 people depending on how hungry they are
Preparation time - 20 minutes including charring the eggplants
Cooking - 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 medium eggplants or 8-10 finger eggplants (Note – See below - must
be charred prior)
or - if you are really pressed for time - Delis sell charred eggplants in bottles
2 onions – finely chopped
Small amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
500g lean mince. Either beef or
lamb would work well with these flavours
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of ground chillies (this amount is mild/moderate) Adjust to your preference.
1 x 400g tin of crushed tomatoes
1 x 400g tin of chick peas or lentils
- very well rinsed and drained
¼ head of cauliflower – chopped into small florets
Good handful of green beans - sliced
2 tablespoons Tahini paste
½ to 1 cup of Low fat Greek yoghurt (1 tablespoon of this is used with
eggplant) (Refer below)
1 clove garlic – crushed
¼ - 1/3 cup pine nuts – toasted
(NB - need to be toasted prior to sprinkling on completed dish)
Small amount of parsley – very finely sliced
Small amount of mint – very finely sliced
Salt and pepper – taste at the end and adjust to your taste preference (I did not need to use salt)
Lettuce leaves
Cucumber - sliced
sliced fresh tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes.
Serving Options: shake of paprika,
fresh mint leaves,
few
fresh pomegranate seeds,
lemon wedges
Method
Eggplants
Heat chargrill to high. Place
eggplants whole on the grill and turn regularly for about 10-15 minutes. (Caution -can be smoky). Skin will go crisp and brown, inside will be
tender when pierced with a knife. Allow
to cool slightly so you can touch them. Halve
lengthways and scoop soft flesh into a bowl. Slice eggplant skin finely – keep
separate – sliced eggplant skin will be added prior to final serving.
Mash eggplant flesh with a drizzle of olive oil, 1 tablespoon each of tahini and the yoghurt. Reserve.
Mince
In a large frypan – gently fry onions til soft.
Increase heat and add mince. Cook, breaking up any lumps. Stir well.
Add cumin, chilli and garlic. Mix through.
Stir in the vegetables, tinned tomatoes and lentils and cook until
cauliflower is tender.
Adjust seasonings if necessary.
Stir in the chopped parsley.
Yoghurt dressing
In a small side dish serving bowl, mix ½ cup yoghurt, 1 tablespoon
tahini and some chopped mint.
If you want a larger amount of yoghurt dressing – use the full 1 cup. I find ½ cup is quite enough.
Serving the yoghurt dressing separately allows everyone to moderate their fat intake.
Assembly
Spread the lettuce leaves on the base of a serving platter – this meal
is good for sharing at table
-
Or - serve on individual plates if preferred
Dollop the eggplant flesh mixture over most of the lettuce. (Allow space around edge for adding the
cucumber and tomatoes later)
Pour the mince/tomato mix over these layers.
Sprinkle with the finely sliced eggplant skin.
Spoon over some of the yoghurt dressing. I serve the remainder in a side bowl.
Scatter over the pine-nuts, mint and paprika.
Place the slices of cucumber and tomato around the edge of the platter.
Finally, it looks and tastes wonderful with a final sprinkling of
pomegranate seeds - (which I put on after the photo!)
Serve lemon wedges in a side bowl.
Enjoy! Colleen
Thank you i love eggplant and cooked this vas very good to eat with the salads for summer
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