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| Stuffed Eggplant with Potatoes, Red Bell Pepper and Greens |
I will soon do a posting on traveling as a vegetarian in China (spoiler: not at all an easy endeavor by any stretch, but worth it once you manage to communicate all the criteria). V and I are still a bit dazed from the trip and finding it odd to use forks and spoons instead of the versatile chop sticks!
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| Beets with greens and eggplant from our farmer’s market |
Despite growing a ton of eggplant in our garden this year, we could not resist picking up some baby eggplant from the farmer’s market this weekend. Other than that, we filled our basket with swiss chard, opo squash, bitter melon, snake gourd, daikon radish, onions, and beets with greens. (Beet greens are delicious and can be cooked like spinach, so do not throw them away).
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| Stuffed Eggplant with Potatoes, Red Bell Pepper and Greens |
The all-vegetarian menu at Mildreds is eclectic, with influences from all over the world – Middle East, Greece, Latin America, South East Asia, Italy, and India, to mention a few. The restaurant itself is very modest looking, cozy and warm with a little waiting area in the front which was very crowded when we went in, as a lot of people were waiting for a table. I don’t remember us waiting that long, but it has been a while, and I only remember that the food was amazing!
The “stuffed eggplant” recipe in the book is an adaptation of a typical Egyptian dish served as a cold starter (or “mezze“) but I served it at room temperature for dinner with a side of salad.
Stuffed Eggplant with Potatoes, Red Bell Pepper and Greens
Adapted from Mildreds: The Vegetarian Cookbook‘s recipe for “Stuffed Baby Aubergines”
[Printable Recipe]
Ingredients:
- Around 8 small baby eggplants, washed and slit through crosswise up to the stem which holds it together
- 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced fine
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced fine
- 3-4 baby potatoes, diced fine (if you are not using organic, then peel the potatoes as it is one of the dirty dozen)
- Pinch crushed red pepper
- About 1 cup of shredded greens (I used beet greens as I had them at hand, but feel free to use spinach, chard, kale, or anything else you fancy)
- Pinch salt
- Few springs of cilantro, chopped fine for garnish
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Brush the eggplant generously with olive oil on the outside and inside and bake for around 20 mins until eggplant is soft but not totally falling apart
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| Split the eggplant crosswise to the stem which still holds it together |
- Heat a pan and add about a tablespoon of olive oil
- Add the garlic
- When fragrant, in about a minute, add the red bell pepper
- After 2-3 minutes, add the potatoes and lower the heat and close with a lid
- Check if the potatoes are cooked after 5-6 mins and cook for around 5 mins more, if not
- Add the red pepper and stir
- Switch off the heat and stir in the shredded greens and salt and close with a lid and let it cool
- When ready to assemble, use your fingers to carefully stuff the eggplant with the filling. (You may have some filling left over, and you can just serve it as a side)
- Drizzle with some more olive oil, garnish with chopped cilantro and serve at room temperature
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| Stuffed Eggplant with Potatoes, Red Bell Pepper and Greens |