Yes I realise July was a while ago. I thought I had forgotten to take pictures of our Christmas in July dinner, but Mr Veggie had a whole stack on his phone. We had sundried tomato arancinis, cannellini bean pate, baked red mullet with fennel, mussels in a tomato sauce, and this Mediterranean stuffed eggplant dish. For dessert we had a caramelised date and fig ice cream cake. It was very good. And very rich. Everyone pitched in, so it was easy and pretty relaxing to prepare all the food! This eggplant dish was a good find – easy to prepare, pretty healthy, but also a bit decadent. It also freezes really well so is worth making a big batch of for future dinners/lunches. 
Mediterranean stuffed eggplant
Adapted from greenkitchenstories
2 eggplants, sliced thinly lengthways and fried in a little oil
Stuffing:
- 100g cracked freekah, cooked
- 100g cracked bulgur, cooked 200g feta (reserve 1/3 for topping)
- 30g pine nuts toasted
- 20g walnuts, toasted and chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 spring onion, sliced
- Handful parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 tbs capers, rinsed and chopped roughly
- 1 egg
Sauce:
- 2 cloves garlic
- Big pinch dried chilli flakes
- Pinch dried oregano
- 1 jar pureed tomatoes (passata)
- Handful cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2tbs basil torn
Gently fry the garlic, chilli and oregano in a heavy saucepan. Add passata and cherry tomatoes and cook until thickened (approx 30 mins). Season and add torn basil.
Assembly is easy – mix all the filling ingredients together, then place some filling onto each piece of eggplant and roll up. Top with tomato sauce and a little extra feta. Bake in 180˚C oven until edges are bubbling and feta is just slightly browned (20-30 mins).
Cooking the Books 