EPISODE 18

One of my favorite combinations is eggplant, tomato, and onions. They complement each other beautifully. Feel free to replace the capers with pitted and chopped kalamata olives, or salty feta. You can also use fresh Italian parsley along with or in place of the mint and basil. You could also dollop some of my amazing vegan pesto on the finished product instead of the fresh herbs.

Ingredients

• 3 large Japanese eggplants
• 4 onions, diced
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• ½ cup capers
• Fresh mint and basil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Cut 3 Japanese eggplants in half lengthways and carefully cut most of the flesh out of the eggplant. Drizzle the eggplant halves with olive oil and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes or until softened.

Place a large sauté pan over medium heat with the olive oil. Add diced onions and, once they’ve softened, add the eggplant flesh, diced. Add a pinch of salt and the dried basil and oregano. Cover and allow to soften, around 10 minutes, then add tomatoes, cover, and let it cook until the eggplant is tender and the flavours have melded together. Take it off the heat and add the capers. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Divide your filling evenly amongst the softened eggplant skins, and bake (still at 400F) for 15 minutes. Let them cool slightly and top with a generous sprinkling of freshly chopped basil and mint.

Enjoy this wonderful dish hot or cold!