Ingredients:
- 2 medium sized eggplants
- 1 tin lentils (420g) – drained and rinsed
- 6 small white button mushrooms – finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic – crushed
- 1 punnet cherry tomatoes – halved
- 100g pitted Kalamata olives – halved
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley – finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 heaped tsp. dried oregano
- Salt – to taste
- Pepper – to taste
- 1 lemon – juiced
Method:
- Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Slice each eggplant lengthways, scoop out the flesh, leaving enough around the edges. Finely dice the remaining eggplant flesh and place aside.
- Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, season with salt + pepper and place on a lined baking tray to cook for approx. 25 minutes until it has softened and is golden.
- Whilst the eggplant is baking, in a medium saucepan, add olive oil and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the cherry tomato halves, let soften and press down slightly with your wooden spoon/spatula to release the juice. Add the diced mushroom and eggplant to the pan and cook until soft.
- Add the lentils, olives, paprika, cayenne pepper, balsamic and parsley and stir through until warmed.
- Spoon the mixture between the cooked eggplant halves. Sprinkle with extra fresh parsley and serve with slices of lemon.