Let me tell you guys… this one was so unbelievably good!!… I am so in love with the @meatlessfarm mince. Finally, a plant-based mince that actually tastes soooo delicious and has the same texture as meat!! I made something similar back in the summer using minced lamb and bulgar wheat, which was a huge hit, so I adapted the recipe slightly using @meatlessfarm mince.
The aubergines are half grilled on the BBQ to give them a smoky charred taste. Then the flesh is scooped out and chopped up to add to the filling. The @meatlessfarm mince is sautéed with garlic, onions, all-spice, cinnamon, and a touch of pomegranate molasses mixed with the aubergine flesh and cooked until it gets sticky and slightly crisp.
The pearled couscous is cooked with onions, peppers, tomato purée, and stock, then filled into the aubergine shells with the mince on top. The filled shells are then baked in the oven for half an hour with a sprinkle of parmesan added for the last few minutes.
Garnish with some freshly chopped parsley and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses, and indulge in.. next-level deliciousness!!
Give this one a try… I promise you will not be disappointed! Do you ever stuff aubergines, and what’s your favorite filling?
Ingredients
- 2 Aubergines
- 500g Meatless Farm Mince
- Olive Oil
- 1 Onion chopped fine
- 5 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tsp Pomegranate molasses and more for drizzling
- 1/2 tsp Allspice
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Cumin ground
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- Sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese freshly grated
- Parsley to garnish
- COUSCOUS
- 100g Pearled Couscous
- Olive Oil
- 1 Small onion finely chopped
- 1/2 Red pepper finely diced
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 knob of butter
- 250ml chicken stock
- Sea Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut aubergines lengthways and cut a criss-cross pattern into the flesh, brush with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- Chargrill on a BBQ or grill pan until half cooked, so it is soft enough to cut out the insides but firm enough that it keeps its shape and set aside to cool
- With a spoon, carefully cut the flesh out of the aubergines, so there is about 1cm left around the shell edge, move shells to the oven tray, and set them aside.
- Chop aubergine flesh small and set aside
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C
- In a saucepan over medium heat with a little oil, fry the onions and garlic until starting to colour
- Add the chopped aubergine flesh to the pan and cook for a few minutes
- Then add the mince, allspice, cinnamon, salt, and pepper, keep stirring to break up the mince, add the pomegranate molasses, and keep cooking until the mince is almost charring slightly and getting darker brown
- In another saucepan, make the pearled couscous – sauté onions in a pan on medium heat with olive oil until translucent, keep stirring, so they do not colour
- Add diced pepper and stir for a few minutes, add tomato purée, salt, and pepper
- Cook for a few minutes more, making sure the mixture does not burn. You can add more oil if needed
- Add the couscous and butter to the pan, pour in the stock, and stir until tomato purée has dissolved into the liquid evenly
- Cover the pan with a tightly fitted lid, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes or until the water is fully absorbed
- Once couscous is cooked, use a fork to fluff it all up
- Fill the aubergine shells with the couscous first and then the mince mixture on top carefully, so the shells stay intact
- Fill all 4 shells pressing all the mixture down into a mound-like shape in each one
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until heated through
- 2-3 minutes before 30 minutes is up, remove from the oven and grate some fresh parmesan over the top, just a sprinkle, not too much
- Cook in the oven until parmesan turns, starts to colour slightly
- Remove from oven, set aside for 5 minutes
- Arrange on a serving platter, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley
- Drizzle some pomegranate molasses over the top
- Serve and enjoy!