Stuffed Turkish Aubergines and Lemon Roast Potatoes

These are another perfect Celia Brooks Brown recipes. The sweetness of the dates and cinnamon perfectly complements the citric potatoes.

Lemon roast potatoes:

about 500 g small new potatoes

olive oil

lemon (juice of half and zest of one)

salt

pepper

1 tsp sugar

- Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper.

- Wash and scrub the potatoes thoroughly.

- Par-boil the potatoes for 5 minutes in salted water.

- Place the potatoes in an oven dish and coat with the dressing.

- Roast for about 30 minutes at 200 degrees, turning and basting the potatoes regularly.

Turkish Stuffed Aubergines

1 large aubergine

50 g couscous

3 dates, pitted and chopped

olive oil

25 g pine nuts

handful of parsley, fine chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1tsp ground cumin

salt

pepper

A tomato half

(vegetable stock)

(Olive oil)

-Cover the couscous with an equal volume of boiling water and leave for 15 minutes. Then fluff with a fork and set aside.

-Being careful not to break the skin, gently bash the aubergine all over with a rolling pin until it feels soft to the touch. Then gently flatten it as much as possible and make a shallow cut around the tip, avoiding simply chopping it off. Twist and pull the top off the aubergine, and the core should come away with it. Liberally salt the insides of the aubergine and leave upside down to drain.

-Fry the onion and finely chopped aubergine-core in some olive oil until golden and soft. Add the ground spices and garlic and fry for a further 2 minutes.

-Fry some pine nuts in neutral oil until lightly browned.

-Combine the couscous, pine nuts and onion mix in a bowl with the remaining ingredients and season to taste.

-Stuff the aubergine with the filling, plug the hole with a tomato half, and barbecue until the skin is charred and the insides tender.

OR: In a baking tray, sit the aubergine in 1 cm of vegetable stock mixed with a few glugs of olive oil, cover with foil and bake for around 45 minutes at 200 degrees, turning the aubergine over halfway through.

Cut the aubergine into slices and serve with the lemon roast potatoes, or with lemon slices and greek yoghurt for a lighter meal.