SMOKED STUFFED AUBERGINES
Ingredients
2 large aubergines
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, then pasted
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried red chilli (optional)
2 tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped, or six tablespoons of tinned chopped tomatoes
25g white breadcrumbs
25g Parmesan or Pecorino or an alternative vegetarian hard cheese, freshly grated
½ unwaxed lemon, grated zest only A handful fresh oregano and parsley leaves, shredded
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
flakes
Preheat oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6 or set your BBQ for indirect heat 200°C and soak two handfuls of woodchips for smoking. Cut the aubergines in half lengthways and, leaving a border of around 5mm/¼in, cut out the flesh.
Dice the flesh and set aside. Brush the inside of the aubergines with olive oil and season with salt. Place in a baking tin and cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes in the oven or on the BBQ.
Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a pan. Add the onion and fry gently over a medium heat for 10 minutes or until softened.
Increase the heat, add the garlic and aubergine flesh and stir until the aubergine has lightly browned. Add the herbs, chilli flakes if using and the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine, reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes, remove the lid and continue to cook until any liquid has evaporated.
Spoon the mixture into the aubergine halves. Mix the breadcrumbs with the cheese, lemon zest, oregano and parsley leaves and season with a little salt and pepper. Sprinkle this over the stuffed aubergines and drizzle with more olive oil.
Bake the aubergines, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes or until the filling is hot through and the top has lightly browned. If you’re cooking them on the BBQ, place over indirect heat, add half the soaked woodchips to each charcoal pile and close the lid. Smoke for about 20-25 minutes.
To serve, I like these with a dollop of Greek-style yoghurt with some chopped mint.