8 Amazing Aubergine Recipes

I love aubergines. They are by far my favourite vegetable in a world full of gorgeous veg. I know they can be a bit love/hate, but I maintain that most of the people who say they hate aubergine have just never eaten one which has been properly cooked. An undercooked aubergine is a woolly, spongy nightmare, whereas a properly cooked aubergine is a soft and yielding thing of rich, luxurious beauty.

Aubergines are something I cook with pretty often. As a vegetarian they are a hearty culinary gift. I love Mediterranean food, and the aubergine is often showcased spectacularly in Mediterranean cookery. I quite often cook Armenian food and one of our favourite recipes is imam bayildi, which almost feels like a health food it’s so packed full of veg.

Aubergines are really great for dicing and throwing into chilli and other slow simmered dishes. I often do this as it’s a great way to sneak a bit of extra veg into my family. It also melts down to nothing if you do this, so no one will ever know!

I’ve picked out some of my favourite aubergine recipes; partly because for me it’s handy to have all the links in one place, but also because other aubergine fans might like to try them out too.

8 Amazing Aubergine Recipes

Imam bayildi – this is a delicious Armenian style baked aubergine, filled with lots of healthy vegetables and baked in the oven until the aubergine is soft and silky. It’s by far my favourite recipe in the world.

Aubergine bruschetta – this tasty dish makes a delicious starter for a dinner party, or a lovely hearty lunch for the family. It is so delicious, it is a regular weekend lunch for us.

Vegetarian Recipe: Aubergine Bruschetta

I love making a filo pie, often with feta and spinach, but this version made with a jar of aubergine is so tasty. Served with a crisp salad and a glass of wine, it’s a simple but elegant meal.

Moussaka is a classic dish in the world of aubergines. It’s not always the quickest meal to put together, but on a cold autumnal weekend, it’s a lovely thing to spend time making. Here’s a slimming world version from blogger Jen Mellor.

One pot aubergine pasta – this recipe from Abel and Cole is a firm family favourite of ours. It is pretty quick to throw together. It’s incredibly tasty and it’s all cooked in one pot, so there’s minimal washing up. It’s a winner!

One of my favourite quick but delicious dishes to make is shakshuka. Blogger Savvy Dad has come up with a vegan version using aubergine, which sounds so good!

Ikra is a delicious Armenian aubergine dip which goes great with crusty bread or on a mezze board. I often whip up a batch for the weekend. It’s a solid staple at my favourite Armenian deli, but it’s also great to make at home too.

8 Amazing Aubergine Recipes

Who doesn’t love a good curry? Becky from A Beautiful Space has shared this incredible looking courgette and aubergine curry, featuring two of my favourite vegetables. This is one to bookmark for later!

What’s your favourite aubergine recipe? I am always on the look out for new ways to use this beautiful vegetable. Let me know in the comments!

8 Amazing Aubergine Recipes

Five Delicious Vegetarian Comfort Food Dishes

I turned vegetarian when I was 13 and there’s not a lot I miss, but on a cold winter night I do sometimes hanker after the slow cooked, deep flavoured chilli my Nan used to make. Thankfully after lots of practice I’ve finally nailed the recipe and managed to make it vegetarian too.

Most of the warming comfort food dishes from my childhood were meat based – family roast dinners, my Nan’s amazing beef chilli, corned beef hash, shepherd’s pie and bubbling stews cooked so long the meat almost melted in your mouth.

There’s something about cooking up some comfort food which makes you feel like you’re showing your family some extra love. I enjoy throwing a few things in the slow cooker and knowing that by tea time there will be a delicious meal ready for my family.

Vegetarian comfort food can feel a bit hard to come by, so I’ve created and shared some of our favourite family recipes on my blog, here are five of my favourite vegetarian comfort food recipes –

Vegetarian Galletes

These are a recent addition to my comfort food repertoire. They’re really easy to make, utterly delicious and once you get the hang of it you can fill them however you want. I made a Goats Cheese, Caramelised Onion and Quince Galette and a Feta, Red Pesto & Tomato Galette. Both were absolutely bang on and real crowd pleasers.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Now autumn is here my soup making pot is starting to see some serious action. Cauliflowers are cheap and plentiful in the shops, so I recreated my favourite soup, but with a cheesy twist. Try my very delicious Norwegian inspired Cauliflower Cheese Soup.

Spanish Style Bravas Sausage Casserole

I’d had it in my head to make a big Spanish style bravas sausage casserole in my slow cooker for a while. This summer hadn’t been up to much and I was desperate to start rustling up comfort food dishes, and this was the first one of the season. I made my sausage casserole with Quorn sausages, but you could very easily make them with your favourite meaty sausages if you’d prefer. I made the sauce in the slow cooker and let it bubble away gently to itself for a few hours. The recipe is really simple and it’s now a firm family favourite.

Authentic Armenian style Imam Bayildi

Imam Bayildi is basically stuffed, baked aubergines. They’re simple to make, you can prepare them ahead of time and then cook them when you need them and they are melt in the mouth gorgeous. I like to use good quality ingredients in this recipe as every single mouthful zings flavour. Fresh vegetables and herbs are essential, they’re packed full of flavour and these sunshiny aubergines are a little bit of summer on a cold autumn evening.

Easy Microwave Jam Sponge

No vegetarian comfort food round-up would be complete without a pudding. This incredibly easy to make and very quick to cook microwave jam sponge is just the ticket to warm your cockles on a cold winter evening. All you need are a few store cupboard ingredients, ten minutes of your time and you’ve got a good pud that’ll make your family smile.

Voucherbox.co.uk have a great blog post about the five healthy foods that can actually save you money, and if you want even more money off your online shop they also have plenty of Sainsbury’s vouchers which you can use.

vegetarian comfort food

Recipe: Authentic Imam Bayildi Armenian style

My beautiful son is part Armenian. I have no hint of interesting ancestry on my side of the family, so I have wholeheartedly embraced some parts of Armenian culture to help him keep in touch with some of his roots. If I’m honest it’s mostly the bits which involve food.

Armenian food is very Mediterranean, you can find very similar food in Greece, Cyprus and Turkey. They do beautiful things with vegetables, so I’m sharing my favourite vegetarian Armenian recipe Imam Bayildi, I hope you like it.

Imam Bayildi is basically stuffed, baked aubergines. It is simple to make, you can prepare them ahead of time and then cook them when you need them and they are melt in the mouth gorgeous. I like to use good quality ingredients in this recipe as every single mouthful zings flavour. Fresh vegetables are essential and good quality tinned tomatoes are ideal, full of flavour and a little does go a long way.

This recipe serves four.

Imam Bayildi

Ingredients:
2 aubergines
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced (I prefer red, but a white onion works too)
2 cloves of garlic
1 green pepper, finely diced
Half a can of good quality tinned tomatoes
Big handful of chopped parsley
1 teaspoon of sugar
Salt & pepper

Method:
1. Cut the top off each aubergine, slice it in half lengthways and scoop out the flesh, leaving an aubergine boat, leave a little of the aubergine flesh around the skin so it can help retain its structural integrity while in the oven. Griddle the aubergine halves on a high heat until they have a little bit of char, then put in a baking dish so they are snuggled up close to each other, this will help them keep their shape in the oven.
2. Chop up the aubergine flesh and fry gently in the olive oil, while that is cooking (stir frequently) chop and add the onion and peppers to the pan. Cook until they are all soft and then add your crushed garlic cloves and half a tin of good quality chopped tomatoes.
3. Season well and add your sugar, cook and stir regularly until most of the liquid has evaporated and all of the vegetables are cooked and soft. Stir through the chopped parsley (reserving a small amount to garnish with later).
3. Carefully spoon the tomato and vegetable mixture into the aubergine skins. Add two tablespoons of water to the baking dish to help the aubergines to cook. Bake for 30 minutes at 200c.
4. Once cooked serve with salad, rice or bulgar wheat, maybe some pitta bread.

Imam Bayildi

We love Imam Bayildi, it’s a regular meal for us; really flavoursome and healthy as well as being a traditional Armenian meal. If you enjoy aubergines, you might also really like this Armenian Ikra recipe.