Aubergines stuffed with cheese, bacon and 'methi'

Quiz time: Identify what possible concoction can you make with the ingredients shown below? And how does a single guy end up with these esoteric ingredients for dinner on a weekend?

Had gone to the supermarket to buy eggs, and the smallest package was 30 eggs. Since that didn't make sense and I was short of loose change, I picked up three small aubergines and a discounted bottle of grated cheese. All for OMR 1.7. Having solved the first problem (which always leads to a bigger one), I was raking my brains on what to do with them and the stuff I had back home.

So here it is a new brinjal/ eggplant/ aubergine bake. With all due apologies to all the grand dining places whosoever served me Parmigiana/ Moussaka or the lovely Karniyak from Hachi Baba from Istanbul. Just to set the record straight and preempt future libel from anyone who has done any of these three recipes, "I, declare that this recipe is my sole creation and bears no resemblance or relation to any of the above mentioned, or not mentioned, eggplant recipes (living or dead), cooked, served, dreamed of and enjoyed by anyone anywhere. Any resemblance is purely coincidental."

Ingredients (Serves 1- Very hungry and tired bachelor on weekend):

• Baby aubergines- Three small, tender.
• Cheese- As much as required/ possible; I used a dry mix of Romano, Parmesan and Asiago as that was the only one on discount.
• Dried bacon flakes- 1 tbsp
• Fenugreek/ Methi- 2 tsp dried leaves
• Butter- 1.5 tsp
• Chilli flakes- As hot as you want it.
• Olive oil for basting
• Salt- To taste

Preparation (Pre-bake time- 10 mins, Baking- 5 mins)

 

Hollow out the eggplants with a small knife. Keep the pulp separate.









Add salt, butter, bacon, cheese, chili flakes and fenugreek (methi leaves) leaves to the mix. And lightly fry in a skillet till the ingredients blend in.

Baste the eggplant shells with olive oil/ butter and stuff with the pre-cooked bacon and cheese mix. Seal the top off with a little extra cheese to trap in the juices.

Pop into microwave and cook at 600 C/ Medium for five minutes. Serve hot as hors d'evours or for dinner to a hungry guy on a weekend.

And ready for dinner.

Tips: 

• Being as cheesy as it is would suggest serving this with a tzatziki or even a simple side dish of yogurt and shredded cucumbers and unleavened bread.