Ok, these didn't come out as pretty (or photogenic) as I wanted but trust me, they're delicious. I've made many a "stuffed vegetable" recipe in my day, but these were wonderful as a vegetarian main course (if you skip the bacon). The buckwheat is a nice alternative to couscous or other starchy filling. While it's a bit grainy on its own, combine it with goat's cheese and you've got a win. It's also a great weeknight dinner recipe: while you're roasting the eggplants (sigh, or aubergine..I have a tendency to cook foods that have a UK/US noun difference) you can make the other parts of the recipe and be done in 30 minutes!
Serves 4
Takes 30 minutes, start to finish
Ingredients
2 large eggplants
Olive Oil
125g buckwheat (cooked according to package instructions)
zest and juice of ½ lime
3 tbsp harissa
10 cherry tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
handful chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
150g crumbled goat’s cheese
2 strips bacon (cooked)
Preparation
-Preheat the oven to 200C or fan180C. Halve the eggplants lengthways and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with plenty of olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes or until tender
-Meanwhile, cook 125g buckwheat according to pack instructions. Stir in 2 tbsp olive oil, the zest and juice of ½ lime and the 3 tbsp of harissa. Deseed and finely chop the cherry tomatoes and stir into the buckwheat with a handful of chopped fresh flatleaf parsley and 150g crumbled goat’s cheese.
-Remove the eggplants from the oven and, once they’ve cooled a little, carefully scoop out the flesh and roughly chop. Stir into the buckwheat mixture and season well. Spoon the mixture back into the eggplant shells and return to the oven for 10-12 minutes.