Mashed

A bowl of mashed roasted eggplant might not sound all that appealing…or maybe it does! But it most definitely does when you mix it other veggies, heaps of spices and serve it up with some fresh seedy spelt bread dipping in and scooping up delicious mouthfuls.

This one of the easiest dishes you could possibly make of an evening. Simply throw (not literally) an eggplant in the oven, sliced in half if you fancy it but it doesn’t really matter. Bake it for a good 25-30 minutes.

The soft delicious eggplant is then mixed with roasted red pepper, tomato and cooked spring onions, along with a few other bits and bobs, a teaspoon of this, a 1/4 teaspoon of that (actual recipe can of course be found below!)…and with minimal effort and cooking skills required you have yourself a bowlful of deliciousness ready to eat as you please.

When I get home from the gym in the evenings, rid myself of my various bags, wash the multiple lunch boxes and make breakfast and lunch for the next day, I’m left with very little enthusiasm and energy to make myself something for dinner. Meals like this are just what is called for, allowing me to multi-task while it comes together in the blink of an eye.

I go through phases of eating copious amounts of both eggplant and spicy foods, more often than not simultaneously. I’ve been neglecting it a bit of late in favour of asparagus and my much loved roasted butternut squash and so it was about time I gave it’s turn to impress and that it did.

Eggplant can be terrible, only if it’s not cooked properly. Undercooked eggplant is really not my cup of tea. I’d eat most vegetables raw, blanched…but eggplant is not one of them. This is the ultimate in fool proof eggplant cooking guaranteed to impress and delight your palate.

What’s your favourite way to cook eggplant?

I’m usually a fan of pan fried or sliced and baked…in both cases it’s all about the pre-salting to draw out some of that moisture.

Eggplant Garam Masala

 Print this easy peasy recipe

Servings – 1

Preparation Time – 5 minutes

Cooking Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant sliced in half
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/2 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil divided
• 1/2 small white onion finely diced
• 1 medium tomato finely diced
• 1/2 large red bell pepper
• 1/4 tsp chili
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp coriander
• 1/8 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh coriander

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
2. Place eggplant and red pepper on a baking tray, drizzle with 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and bake in the oven for 25- 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile add 1 tsp of olive oil to a pan, add in garlic and onion cooking for 3-5 minutes. Add in tomato and spices and cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring to ensure nothing burns.
4. Remove cooked pepper and eggplant from the oven. Peel eggplant and place flesh in to the pan with other ingredients, mashing with a fork to combine.
5. Peel skin of red pepper, finely dice and add to the pan. Cook everything together for a final 5 minutes or a low heat.
6. Serve topped with fresh coriander and your favourite bread for dipping, scooping and spreading.

Tagged as: eggplant, indian, masala, red pepper, spelt bread, vegan, wheat free