I made this regularly when my children were growing up because my son used to be a vegetarian. Aubergines are cheap (45p each at Aldi), versatile and nutritious. They absorb different flavours very well and provide enough bulk and fibre on their own so you don’t really need to serve an additional carbohydrate. Having said that this recipe is particularly good with crusty bread to soak up the juices and you could also pad it out with rice or pasta.

I usually cook this recipe with mozzarella – adding torn chunks of mozzarella to the last five minutes of cooking – but I forgot to buy mozzarella so used parmesan cheese instead. I also used dried figs instead of the usual sultanas but it is really much better with sultanas as you want the sweetness. If you don’t have sultanas you could use currants or raisons. The great thing about this dish is you can experiment with different fillings.

I normally cook the sauce with just fresh tomatoes (peeled first after soaking in boiling water) but for this I also about a cup tomato juice, for some extra liquid.

This recipe is enough for two people.

Ingredients

1 x aubergine
1 egg
1 clove of garlic
About 50g of chopped walnuts
About 50g of flaked almonds
About 50g of grated parmesan cheese (optional if using mozzarella)
About 50g of sultanas
Bunch of fresh basil leaves
6 tomatoes, skinned (or a can of tomatoes)
1 x tablespoon of tomato puree
Two balls of mozzarella (not shown in photo)
Olive oil for cooking

Method 

1. Chop the garlic and add to some cold olive oil in a saucepan. Heat very gently for about a minute making sure the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the fresh or tinned tomatoes (or combination of both), tomato puree, about half a can of boiling water (if you are using tinned tomatoes you can swill out the can), salt and pepper. Leave to simmer.

2. Slice the aubergines fairly thinly, dip in beaten egg and cook in the oil in a frying pan until lightly browned and soft.

3. Lay out the aubergines on a board and cover with the nuts, sultanas, cheese and basil.  Season with salt and pepper. Roll up the aubergine and place the stuffed rolls in the tomato sauce. I usually add any small bits of aubergine left over to the pan, along with some extra nuts, cheese and basil. Cook for about five minutes.

4. Tear up the mozzarella and add to the pan. Cook for about five minutes, sprinkle with a few more basil leaves and serve.