Tender roasted eggplant halves are filled with delicious spiced mince and veggies, then roasted until crispy – served dolloped with our go-to yoghurt tahini sauce.
This Week
9 Dec - 15 Dec
Meal Prep Guide
Finely dice 1 zucchini (store in an airtight container in the fridge)
Make the spice mix for the filling (store in an airtight jar in the pantry)
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of chilli flakes
Make the yoghurt, tahini sauce (store in a jar in the fridge)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup greek yoghurt
- 2 Tbsp tahini
- 1 small garlic clove (crushed)
- 1 lemon (juice)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Add all the ingredients into a small bowl and mix well until smooth creamy.
Toast the pine nuts (store in an airtight jar in the pantry)
- 2 Tbsp pine nuts
Tips
- The eggplant flesh should be caramelised and soft when cooked. It should be very easy to scoop out the flesh, if there is resistance, it’s a good sign that the eggplant needs to be cooked for longer.
- Eggplant loves olive oil! Use a generous amount when roasting to help the eggplant flesh go a deep golden colour.
Shortcuts
- Instead of pan-frying the green beans, serve the boats alongside steamed green beans, fresh greens of choice or add extra veggies like capsicum and carrot to the filling.
Shortcuts
Vegetables
- Add carrot or extra veggies to the filling. Cook at the same time as the onion and zucchini.
Protein
- For a vegetarian option, omit the mince and swap for 2 tins(800g) of lentils (drained and rinsed) and 2 Tbsp tomato paste. Swap bone broth for ¼ cup of vegetable stock.
Other
- Sub greek yoghurt for coconut yoghurt if dairy-free.
Ingredients
Stuffed Eggplant
- 3 eggplants
- 1 brown onion (finely diced)
- 1 red capsicum (finely diced)
- 1 zucchini (finely diced)
- 500g beef or lamb mince
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of chilli flakes
- 1 garlic clove (crushed)
- ¼ cup bone broth or stock
- 100g feta (crumbled)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
Green beans
- 250g green beans, 1 bag (ends removed)
- 1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
- ½ lemon (zest)
- 2 Tbsp pine nuts (toasted)
Creamy Tahini Sauce
- ¼ cup greek yoghurt
- 2 Tbsp tahini
- 1 small garlic clove (crushed)
- 1 lemon (juice)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
- ½ cup coriander
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cut each eggplant in half lengthways, score the inside flesh diagonally with a knife forming a diamond pattern, brush with olive oil and season with salt.
- Place the eggplant onto a large baking tray, cut side up. Pop in the oven to cook for 30 minutes or until the inside flesh is soft and golden.
- In a large fry pan over medium heat, add olive oil, onion, capsicum and zucchini. Sauté until soft and starting to brown, approximately 5-10 minutes.
- Add the mince to the pan and cook for 5 -7 minutes, or until browned and all the moisture has evaporated.
- Add the spices and garlic; mix well to distribute through the mince and vegetables.
- Add the stock and allow to cook for another 5 – 10 minutes until the liquid has reduced. The mince should be moist but not ‘sloppy.’
- Once the eggplant has cooked, scoop out the inside flesh whilst keeping the skin intact – creating your eggplant boats. Stir the removed eggplant flesh through the mince. Then add the mince mixture into the ‘boats’ (any excess mince can be scattered around the tray) and top with the feta. Pop back in the oven for 10 minutes or until browned on the top.
- While the eggplant boats are cooking, prepare the green beans and yoghurt tahini sauce.
- To make the yoghurt tahini sauce, add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix until smooth and creamy; set aside.
- To make the green beans, add 1 Tbsp of butter or olive oil to a fry pan over medium heat. Add the green beans and cook for 3-4 minutes until lightly charred and tender. Remove from the heat and sprinkle over the pine nuts and a little lemon zest.
- Once the eggplant boats are cooked, dollop over the yoghurt tahini sauce and garnish with fresh coriander.
Variations
Vegetables
- Add carrot or extra veggies to the filling. Cook at the same time as the onion and zucchini.
Protein
- For a vegetarian option, omit the mince and swap for 2 tins(800g) of lentils (drained and rinsed) and 2 Tbsp tomato paste. Swap bone broth for ¼ cup of vegetable stock.
Other
- Sub greek yoghurt for coconut yoghurt if dairy-free.
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