time to get stuffed
You may have heard of stuffed peppers, but did you know there are other delicious veggies that can be stuffed with all kinds of goodies? Large, bulbous eggplants make the perfect vessel and just happen to be an amazing and healthy summer veggie. Roasted eggplant halves are scraped out, and the flesh is mixed with chickpeas, peppers, couscous, and all kinds of fragrant spices. The eggplant shells then get stuffed with the yummy filling and topped with crumbled feta and fresh mint. Yummy!
⟶ the recipe
chickpea & couscous stuffed eggplant
ingredients
2 large eggplants, sliced lengthwise
1 cup couscous, cooked
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
½ cup vegetable broth
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
Pinch each of salt and pepper
½ cup crumbled feta
½ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
Prep time
30 minutes
Cook time
30 minutes
Total time
1 hour
4 servings
instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Score the eggplant halves in a crosshatch pattern. Brush each half with olive oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for about 30 minutes or until eggplants are tender.
Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, and sauté for another minute. Add the cumin, turmeric, and chili powder. Stir everything together. Add the bell peppers and sauté for another minute or so. Pour in the vegetable broth and simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes.
Once veggies are tender and vegetable broth has reduced almost completely, stir in the couscous.
Once the eggplant has cooked, let them cool for a bit. Once they’re cool enough to handle, scrape out the flesh, and chop it. Add the chickpeas and eggplant flesh to the couscous mixture and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes on low heat to meld the flavors. Remove from heat and stir in the crumbled feta and mint leaves.
Spoon the couscous mixture into the eggplant shells and garnish with additional feta and mint leaves if desired.
⟶ recipe notes
- You might have extra filling after stuffing your eggplants. Store filling in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. The filling makes a great addition to a salad and is also great just by itself
⟶ modifications
- Make these vegan by skipping the feta. Add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end for a bit of tanginess
- Add a boost of protein by adding minced lamb meat to the filling
⟶ make it ahead
- You can make almost the entire couscous mixture ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to use. When eggplants are roasting, just reheat the mixture and stir in the eggplant flesh, feta, and mint leaves at the end
