Easy Stuffed Eggplant and Peppers

Earthy and awesome flavour baked into every bite! 

Ingredients:

olive oil to coat eggplant

1 medium sized eggplant (12 oz)

1 tbsps olive oil

1/3 cup chopped onion

3 tsps minced garlic

1/3 cup chopped red pepper plus 1 whole red pepper

1/2 cup packed, chopped spinach

1 lb lean ground pork

2 tbsps tomato paste

1 tbsp tahini paste

1 tsp ground cumin

pinch red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp sea salt

15 grinds of black pepper

1/2 cup beef broth

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

fresh parsley to serve

Start by cooking the eggplant. Pierce the skin 5 or 6 times, then rub all over with olive oil and wrap in foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-40 minutes or until fork tender. Open the sheet of foil on the baking pan and set the eggplant aside to cool.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet and cook onion and red pepper until onion is just lightly golden. Add the garlic for 1 minute. Make a well in the center and add the pork, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up the meat, until no pink remains. Add spinach.

Whisk tomato paste, tahini paste and broth together and stir into the skillet. Bring to a boil then simmer uncovered for 10 minutes to reduce the liquid.

Once cool enough to handle, cut the eggplant in half lengthwise through the stem and score the flesh, leaving 1/4 - 1/2" around on the skin. Scoop out the flesh. I found using a grapefruit spoon with a serrated edge works well.

Add the eggplant and sunflower seeds to the skillet and stir together.  Lay the eggplant halves and halved red pepper on the reserved foil. Stuff each with the filling, mounding it up.

Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. 

Great served as is...

even better drizzled with ranch dressing and some chopped fresh parsley!

Makes 4 servings.