Stuffed Eggplants

I told you about my love for eggplants just a while ago. Today I planned on cooking "Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans" out of Heidi's book Super Natural Cooking. I planned on buying chard, but ended up buying a cute little eggplant. I planned on making the beans with eggplant instead of chard.

I cooked my beans on low heat, for a little bit too long. My beans were mushy, no chance turning them into "crusty". I decided to puree the beans and use them as a sauce for pasta, with eggplant chunks that I sautéed in olive oil. But then I cut the eggplant in half and decided that it was perfect for filling. I sprinkled some oats, pepper and piment d'espelette (a souvenir from my holidays) on top and put them in the oven. That's how I usually cook, and I tried really hard to follow a recipe. There must be something wrong with me...

Stuffed Eggplants

Ingredients:
100g white beans, cooked until rather mushy
fresh garlic, at least 3 cloves (I wish I had used more)
salt
olive oil
pepper
piment d'espelette or cayenne pepper
1 eggplant or two small eggplants
rolled oats, about a tablespoon

Preheat the oven to 150°C. In a blender, mix the beans, the garlic (cut into small pieces) with some olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) until smooth, then add salt and pepper to taste. Add more garlic if necessary. Add some piment and give it another whirl. Cut the eggplants in half, scoop out the inner parts with a spoon. Spoon in the bean mixture, sprinkle oats, some more piment and pepper on top. Bake for about 30 minutes or more, depending on the size of the eggplant. Serve with a salad, with couscous, or anything you like.

Serves 2.

Note: I threw the flesh of the eggplant away, but if you want to use it, you could make something like the Moroccan dish Kahrmus, an eggplant puree.