Moroccan Aubergine Stew

Aubergines are a vegetable that until quite recently I could take or leave. They were never top of my favourites list until I started making aubergine parmigiana for my son and he couldn’t get enough of it.

As soon as I tasted it, I knew that I had been missing out! After this little revelation, I set out to use it in more dishes where I could, and in place of meat if possible, and that’s where this dish was born. You can serve this stew on its own or, if you want to bulk it out further, I also like to serve it with ready-made couscous, which just needs boiling water added to it. Remember to add the extra calories if you add to the dish.

Tip – If you’d like to make this recipe veggie, replace the normal feta with vegetarian feta cheese.

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 4 – per serving = 4 points or 147 cals, 7.4g fat, 14.6g carbs, 6.0g protein

INGREDIENTS

2 large aubergines (around 400g), cut into large chunks

1 red onion, peeled and sliced

2 peppers, deseeded and sliced

1 courgette, diced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp each of tomato puree and red wine vinegar

2 tbsp harissa paste

½ tbsp honey

1 vegetable stock cube made up with 400ml water

60g feta, crumbled (if vegetarian, use vegetarian feta)

10g each fresh mint and fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 lemon

Low calorie cooking spray

METHOD

  1. Take a large saucepan, spray with low-calorie cooking spray and fry the aubergine in batches for 2–3 minutes per batch until it is nicely browned on all sides. Remove the aubergine from the pan and pop to one side on a plate.
  2. Next, add the onion, peppers, courgette and cumin to the pan and spray with the low-calorie cooking spray. Fry for 3–4 minutes until the onion is soft and then add the aubergine back into the pan.
  3. In a jug, mix together the tomato purée, red wine vinegar, harissa paste, honey and vegetable stock. Stir until well combined and then pour into the pan over the veggies.
  4. Add a lid and simmer over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and then simmer uncovered for a further 5 minutes (this will reduce the stock down further so the dish is not watery). The lovely flavoured stock should start absorbing nicely into the veggies.
  5. Remove from the heat and add half the feta, mint and parsley. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and stir.
  6. To serve, dish up and then finish with a sprinkle of the reserved feta, mint, parsley and lemon juice

 



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