Aubergine with spicy apricot tabbouleh

Aubergine with spicy apricot tabbouleh

This aubergine parcel looks very dramatic, but is dead easy

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 1

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 30 mins

Vegetarian

Vegetarian

Method

  1. Boil the kettle and tip the couscous into a heatproof bowl. Rub in the harissa with your fingers, then stir in the apricots and ground coriander. Pour over 2 ½ tbsp boiling water, cover, then leave the couscous to swell for 5 mins.
  2. When the couscous is cooked, fluff it up with a fork and stir in the spring onion, chickpeas, 2 tbsp chopped herbs, 1 tbsp oil and all but 1 tsp of the lemon juice. Season well and set aside.
  3. Slice a thick slice off the rounded end of the aubergine. Using a small knife and teaspoon, cut and scrape out most of the aubergine flesh until you have a 1-2cm thick shell left (see Tip below for using up the aubergine). Brush inside and out with another tbsp of oil, then tightly pack in the couscous. Return the slice to the bottom of the aubergine to seal, then wrap tightly in two layers of foil. The stuffed aubergine will sit happily for up to a day in the fridge.
  4. Just before you begin barbecuing, mix the remaining herbs with the remaining oil and lemon juice and some seasoning. Sit the aubergine over the coolest part of the barbecue, and cook for about 30 mins, turning. To test if the aubergine is done, stick in a skewer - if the aubergine feels soft and the skewer feels hot when it comes out then it's ready. To serve, unwrap the aubergine and thickly slice. Sit a few slices on a plate and drizzle with the herby dressing.
Try

Use up the aubergine: Smoky aubergine dip

Chop 1 large aubergine into chunks, then mix with the scooped out flesh from the stuffed aubergine, and a little oil. Grill, turning, for 10 -15 mins until the aubergine is soft and charred. Cool, whizz briefly until pulpy, then mix in a bowl with juice from 1 lemon, 150g pot yogurt, 2 tbsp chopped mint and parsley, few pinches smoky paprika and some seasoning.

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PER SERVING

503 kcalories, protein 8g, carbohydrate 39g, fat 36 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 10g, sugar 22g, salt 0.19 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, Vegetarian Summer 09.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • 19 July 2010

    Spanxapotamus Rex rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This is really fun and easy, but I recommend baking the Eggplant and the couscous separately for half the suggested time, and then combining them and cooking until finish.

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  • 27 July 2011

    CharLit rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Verrrrry good! I did this in the oven, so I baked the hollowed-out aubergines by themselves for a while first so that it wouldn't take forever for them to cook once they were stuffed. I upped the harissa and the powdered coriander a bit, used fresh mint and coriander for the herbs, and added salt to the stuffing. I served it with the sweet potato & ginger mash (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5254/sweet-potato-and-ginger-mash), great combination!

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  • 30 August 2011

    Mmmmm rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Made this pretty much to the recipe but added extra apricots and onion. The stuffing mix itself was fantastic so served that as a side salad. However, the whole thing seemed to lose its character and punch when cooked inside the aubergine. Didn't think the flavours bought out the best in each other so would definitely keep them separate and stick with the couscous as its own dish.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 1

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 30 mins

Vegetarian

Vegetarian

Ingredients

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PER SERVING

503 kcalories, protein 8g, carbohydrate 39g, fat 36 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 10g, sugar 22g, salt 0.19 g

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