Looking for an incredible stuffed eggplant recipe? You’ve come to the right place, friends. During the week I often don’t have the energy or the time to make super-duper exciting meals. Unless it’s the weekend, our dinners consist of protein, vegetables, and carbs, but not much creativity.
But sometimes we get wild and have friends over for dinner during the week (so crazy). I love having friends over for dinner because it forces me to be more social (any introverts in the house?) but also because it lets me explore the world of cooking more.
Last night we had a dinner party for six, and I wanted to make something deliciously different. My only criteria was that the food had to contain eggplant because one of our dinner party guests loves eggplant (aubergine in the U.K.). I thought about making an eggplant purée and stuffing it in tender chicken, but then I thought, “What if I kept the eggplant as the main gem and had fillings and chicken on the side?” Thankfully my crazy idea resulted in dinner being an absolute hit. Below you can find my scrumptious, spiced, and stuffed eggplant recipe. I hope that it’s as big of a hit with you and your friends as it was with mine.
Time for Stuffed Eggplant Recipe: ~40 minutes
Ingredients (for 6)
- 3 eggplants (the larger the better, since you will use them as bowls)
- 1 can of tomatoes (I picked plum tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup of chopped white onions
- 1 can of chickpeas—put these in a strainer and wash them under warm water for a couple of minutes before you use them
- 1 package of Leicester Cheddar (my favorite cheddar, but you can go with any type of strong cheddar)
- Curry powder, cumin powder, fenugreek powder (Whole Foods), cayenne pepper powder
- Garlic paste
- Olive oil
- Foil
- 1 medium saucepan (2 pans if you don’t want the veggies to be in the same pan as the chicken) and 1 metal cookie sheet tray
- 4 washed chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
Accompaniments
- Regular hummus (you can make your own if you’d like! Use this recipe)
- Cooked couscous with raisins, spices, and chickpeas (300 grams/10 ounces)
- Chilled white wine
- Green and black olives
Instructions
C H I C K E N
- Pour two tablespoons of olive oil in the medium saucepan. Get it going on medium heat.
- Cover the chicken breasts with olive oil, curry powder, pepper, and salt. Place them carefully into the hot pan.
- Crisp the chicken breasts for about two minutes on each side. Place them in the oven at 350F/175C.
- After the chicken is cooked through (about 10-15 minutes), take two forks and shred the chicken breasts. Place in a container and set aside.
E G G P L A N T
- Thoroughly wash the eggplants. Slice them down the middle so that you have six halves.
- Line the cookie sheet with foil. Place the eggplant halves on top of the foil, purple side down.
- Paint the top of the eggplants (not the purple side) with olive oil, curry powder, cayenne powder, salt, and pepper.
- Place in the oven for 20 minutes at 400F/200C.
V E G G I E S
- While the eggplants are cooking, take the saucepan and pour in two tablespoons of olive oil (as usual).
- Let the onions and chickpeas sauté for five minutes before adding in the tomatoes.
- Add a pinch of curry powder, cumin powder, fenugreek powder (Whole Foods), cayenne pepper powder, salt, and pepper into the cooking veggies. Stir often.
- After it looks like the veggies are almost cooked, set them aside. You can tell they’re almost cooked because they will not yet be charred.
- While the veggies are cooking, slice the cheese into thin strips. You can also make the couscous now if you didn’t make it beforehand.
C O U S C O U S
- Cook the couscous. If you don’t know how, here are instructions for making couscous.
- Add in ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon curry powder, 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, and 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil.
- I usually add small raisins as well. Stir and set aside.
A L M O S T D O N E . . .
- Take the eggplants out of the oven using towels/oven mitts. The tray will be really hot!
- Shred the eggplants using two forks but be careful not to tear the outside peel of the eggplants.
- Fill the eggplants with the veggie mixture and place three strips of cheddar cheese on top of each eggplant half. If you have space, add in the chicken as well. I didn’t, so I placed the chicken on the side. If you have extra veggie mixture, add that into the couscous (I don’t waste anything haha).
- Place the stuffed eggplants back in the oven for five minutes so that the cheddar cheese and veggies can soak into the eggplants.
- Remove the stuffed eggplants from the oven. Plate them along with a dollop of hummus, a serving of couscous, and extra chicken on the side. Serve hot!
I’m a vegetarian so I made mine without chicken, but this was a great way to give my meat-eating friends a delicious meal without too much added effort! I know eggplants aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, mine included, but this recipe actually helped me like them! My mom makes this smokey eggplant dish *drool* and I think that’s the key. Eggplant is versatile, and you can make something out of it that you will enjoy! Spice up your eggplant, stuff it, and serve that scrumptious meal. I’m still dreaming about it and will definitely make this again!
So tell me, how did this stuffed eggplant recipe turn out for you?
Cheers,
