Zingy Aubergine
Luscious pan-steamed eggplant is the perfect match for the zingy flavoursome topping.
Ingredients:
2 medium or large eggplants
A little vegetable oil for frying, eg sunflower or rice bran
¼ cup water
Zest and juice half a lemon (we used a microplane for the zest but you can also use a vegetable peeler and then chop the strips of zest finely with a sharp knife)
2 tablespoons olive oil
About a cup of fresh herbs – we used a mix of parsley and coriander (including the thin stalks) – roughly chopped
Chilli to taste - we used 3 fresh birds eye chillis (deseeded so it didn’t blow our heads off) – finely sliced/chopped
½ cup roasted salted peanuts – roughly chopped
½ cup Angel Food sour cream
Instructions:
1. This is a pan-steam method for cooking eggplant without letting it soak up twice its own body weight in oil! Trim the stalk end from the eggplants and cut them lengthwise into eight wedges.
2. Put a large frying pan on a hot element and add a small amount of oil, just enough to cover the base of the pan. When it’s good and hot, put in as many eggplant pieces as will comfortably fit, cut side down. After a few minutes they should be showing some sear marks – turn them over so the other cut side is on the pan and allow that to sear nicely too. Remove from the pan and repeat the process until all the eggplant wedges are seared.
3. Lower the heat to medium and put all the seared eggplant wedges back in the pan with the skin side down. Sprinkle with a little salt (or vege stock powder) and a dash of water. Cover with a lid (or a baking sheet, anything that will keep the steam in). Check the water level every couple of minutes and add another dash of water as it evaporates. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the eggplant is meltingly soft all the way through. Remove from the heat.
4. Pour the lemon juice and olive oil over the cooked eggplant and then transfer to a serving dish. Top with sour cream, peanuts, chilli and herbs.
5. Delicious served hot or at room temperature.
Notes:
If you have any left over, enjoy it in a sandwich the next day!
Not a fan of chilli? All good to skip it, but maybe add some finely diced tomato or red capsicum instead, for that gorgeous colour.
Instead of peanuts you could use toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or any kind of nuts you like.