Serves: 4 as a light meal
This is a cheesy, zesty delight. Use a sharp knife to score the eggplant flesh, starting at the top and going across on the diagonal both ways to create a criss-crossing pattern down to the base. It’s easy to double the recipe if you’re serving a bigger group.
Ingredients
3 large eggplants, halved
3 tablespoons olive oil
250g spinach leaves
150g feta, crumbled
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, diced into eighths
½ cup sundried tomatoes, finely diced
½ cup ricotta
1l3 cup pesto
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 cup roughly chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt and black pepper
A handful of pomegranate seeds to serve
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan bake. Score the flesh of the eggplants, then place skin-side down on a lined baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes or until soft.
- Boil a jug of water. Put the spinach in a bowl, cover with boiling water and let sit for 1 minute. Carefully pour into a colander, then run under cold water until the spinach cools. Using your hands, squeeze out all the excess liquid. You will need to squeeze it a few times. Roughly chop the spinach, then pull it apart so it is no longer in a big clump. Place it in a large bowl, add the other ingredients, except the salt and pepper, then mix everything together.
- When the eggplant is cooked, gently spoon the mixture evenly over the top. Season with salt and cracked pepper and bake for a further 20 minutes.
- Serve with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds.
Extracted from Miss Polly’s Kitchen by Polly Markus. Photography by Melanie Jenkins (Allen & Unwin NZ, RRP $45, released August 30).
