Autumn has me filled with foodie inspiration, and since I’m back at college for the year (eek!), I’m also loving creating new vegetarian dishes for quick lunches and dinners. This dish combines two of my favourite ingredients to cook and eat – lentils, and aubergines! You may have guessed that from the title…anyway, this is a great one to make ahead or use as a side dish to a larger meal, or a ‘pot luck’ style dinner with your friends and family! I love lentils – they’re packed with plant protein and fibre, and are really filling as a result. Let’s get the oven on!

Recipe (Serves 2)

Ingredients

• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine or balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 red onion
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and diced
• 1/2 courgette
• 1 aubergine
• 200g of lentils (I use pre-cooked tinned green lentils from Biona)
• Seasoning with black pepper and a pinch of sea salt
• Note: I’ve used pre-cooked tinned lentils in this recipe (purely for convenience!), so if you have some that need cooking before use, do that before starting the method below!

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (fan oven), and line a baking tray with tinfoil.
2. Slice the aubergine lengthways, cut off the top part with the leaf, and then scoop out the centre of each half lengthways. Keep the flesh – slice it into chunks, and set it aside.
3. Drizzle a little olive oil onto each aubergine half, and sprinkle some black pepper and sea salt on top.
4. When the oven is ready, roast the aubergine halves for 20 minutes, then remove.
5. While the aubergines are cooking, chop up your veggies – red onion and courgette – then heat a small pot with a little olive oil in it.
6. Cook the onion, garlic, courgette and aubergine flesh and herbs for 5 minutes until the onions are translucent.
7. Add the tomato puree and red wine vinegar, and coat the mix in both, cooking for another couple of minutes.
8. Turn off the heat, and scoop this mixture into a small bowl. Add the lentils and mix them in.
9. When the aubergines are ready and out of the oven, scoop the lentil and vegetable mix into each aubergine half, and then pop them back in the oven for 10 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for just a couple of minutes before serving!

Enjoy guys! Tag me if you try this one out – @theirishbalance on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook!

Ciara 🙂 x