Baked Stuffed Aubergines

Now before any of you pull the face I pulled when I first tried aubergines, read on!

When I first tried this wierd but oddly fascinating to look at vegetable I wasn’t too sure, but that was just aubergine in it’s blandest form.

This is revolutionary.

Hot fleshy aubergine, with a delicious earthy taste complimented with strong garlic tangs, crispy mozzarella, bursting tomatoes and melt-in-the-mouth mushrooms, sprinkled with fresh basil….

Oh it’s making my mouth water just remembering how it tasted last night! So if you want to try this hearty recipe to warm you up now the nights are drawing in, here’s the recipe!

It’s perfect for veggies (or vegans if you take out the cheese, but that would be a shame – cheese is my fave!) and if you fancy it, try adding some diced pancetta or chicken to the mix!

Baked Stuffed Aubergines (serves one as a main, two as a starter)

1 Aubergine

5 cherry tomatoes

3 mushrooms

1 small red onion

1 bulb garlic

a little olive oil

Grated mozzarella (or chunks/slices of buffalo mozzarella if you prefer – I’m still in student mode!)

1. Top and tail the aubergine and then slice in half down the middle
2. Cut out the flesh, leaving just the skin (I diced it like this, then scooped it out with a spoon, and yes this is a mango but that’s irrelevant!)
3. Dice the flesh and add to a mixing bowl. Meanwhile place the skins in a baking tray lined with a little olive oil
4. Chop the onion, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes finely into small chunks and add to the mixture
5. Crush the garlic clove into the mix and drizzle in a little more olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Tear the basil leaves into the bowl and mix everything together well.
7. Scoops the mixture back into the aubergines (it won’t fit perfectly, they’ll be plenty of overflow but it is delicious!)
8. Sprinkle generously with the mozzarella
9. Bake on Gas 6 for 35-40 minutes. It’s ready when the aubergine flesh is tender.
10. Enjoy!