Stuffed eggplant with coconut rice and pomegranate

Prep. Time: 30 min - Cook Time: 65 min - Total Time: 95 min - Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Filling:

  • 4 eggplants

  • 1/2 pomegranate

  • 1 garlic clove, sliced

  • 1/2 white onion, peeled and diced

  • A pinch of rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano

  • 1 tbsp peanut oil

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • 400ml almond cream (or cooking cream)

  • 100g mozzarella, grated

  • 1 egg

  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs

  • 1 lt water, room temperature

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/3 cup feta cheese

  • Coriander or mint leaves

Coconut rice:

  • 1/2 cup organic black jasmine rice

  • 400ml (1 can) coconut milk

  • 1 cup fresh coconut, scraped

  • 2 tbsp butter (or margarine)

  • 1 tbsp brown sugar

  • 2 cups water

  • Salt

Instructions

Coconut rice:

  1. In a cast iron skillet, heat coconut milk over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring and scraping constantly until coconut solids cook down to a deep, dark brown.

  2. Add the water, sugar, butter, and salt. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

  3. Add rice and cook for 20 minutes, until water starts bubbling and rice is tender.

Filling:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 C.

  2. Cut the eggplantsin half lengthwise and carefully cut out most of the flesh, leaving a 1/2cm border.

  3. Soak the eggplant skins in the water with a pinch of salt for 20 minutes.

  4. Remove eggplant skins from water and place on the tray.

  5. Brush the inside of the eggplant skins with olive oil, salt and black pepper and place in the oven for 30 minutes, until soft and set aside.

  6. Roughly chop the eggplants flesh into pieces.

  7. In a cast iron skillet, heat peanut oil over medium heat and cook the onions, and garlic for 10 minutes. Add eggplants flesh pieces, almond cream and season with rosemary, thyme, parsley and oregano. Let it cook for 10 minutes, until softened.

  8. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and combine with the egg, cheese and bread crumbs and coconut rice.

  9. Spoon the mixture into the empty eggplant skins and bake for 15 minutes.

  10. Break the pomegranate and remove the seeds.

  11. Crumble the feta cheese over the top, together with a few pomegranate seeds and coriander or mint leaves.

Natalia Rojas