Sometimes it is really rather lovely to have a lighter, vegetarian meal…. something quick and tasty. I always used to think aubergines were awful until I made this roasted and stuffed-with-delicious-little-bits aubergine. This is excellent when you want a midweek supper when you are late in from work, or maybe a hot lunch at weekends. 40 minutes or so… does that sound good? And 30 minutes of that is in the oven.. you can be pouring yourself a drink and trying to put the tortures of a working day out of your mind while the smell of supper filters out and makes your mouth water…
Imagine a roasted aubergine, stuffed with delicious bits of anti pasti – olives, sundried tomatoes, artichokes, olives and goats cheese? And before you think that might not be for you, the Bear ate it and said it was delicious.
You’ll need aubergine (half for each person)
I called in at Sainsbury’s and filled a little pot with their mixed antipasti – it has olives, marinated mushrooms, roasted peppers, tomatoes.
I bought a jar of chargrilled artichokes because I love them and I knew there were some sun dried tomatoes in the cupboard. You don’t have to, you can just use the mixed antipasti if you want to. All I needed to finish it off was a small log of goats cheese.
Halve your aubergines and slash them across (try not to slash their skin – you want to keep all the juices in) and then slash again length ways. This will give you the gaps you need to stuff in everything.
Put the oven on at 160 degrees C, or thereabouts
If you have bought artichokes you will need to slice them – they are too big to be shoved in the slashes
and half the olives and any of the big bits
Start to jam things in the gaps… this is quick and easy. You are not looking for awards for neatness here
There will be some oil left from the pot, don’t waste it, dribble it over the vegetables and aubergine
Then open the goats cheese and slice it. This is a sticky job, more sticky than shoving in the oily vegetables, but don’t worry you can wash your hands in a minute and settle down while it cooks.
Share out the goats cheese on top of the aubergine and vegetables
See? Looking rather attractive, don’t you think?
Lay them on a silicone sheet or some tin foil, lay some more foil lightly over the top to keep the moisture in for the moment and pop them in the oven.
At this point I would start to boil some baby salad potatoes to go with it and then take a break…. pour that drink and tell everyone within earshot about how dreadful your day was.
After quarter of an hour, check the aubergines… and take off the foil top to brown everything in the last ten minutes. The aubergine will be soft and bathed in the delicious vegetably, oily juices.
Drain the potatoes… and serve….
There you have it. Forty minutes or so and you have a delicious supper with ingredients you can pick up in the supermarket on your way home, very quickly
