Aubergine Stacks Recipe - Diced and Spiced

Another Turkmen recipe I have been looking forward to trying is this tasty, fresh looking appetiser. But first, a little background…

S Hates Aubergines.

I’ve always thought I would make her come around to them, but I think the best I’ve managed to do up until now is something along the lines of:

“The way you’ve cooked it… It’s less horrible than usual.”

Before today, I think there was only one time I actually saw her seem to enjoy eating aubergine, which was in a particularly nice Veg Moussaka we got in Turkey seven years ago … but then again, maybe it was just the Efes talking. There’ve been only a handful of occasions since then she seemed to find it edible but not particularly enjoyable.

Don’t get me wrong, aubergine isn’t my favourite vegetable, nor is it even in the top 20… But, I do enjoy aubergine when it’s done well. And I definitely love a nice smokey Baba Ganouj.

This is another recipe I would like to give full credit to Bayramgül and her One Turkmen Kitchen for. It’s another gem I found on her site, and I’m very glad it caught my eye. I scoured the web and I do see the recipe come up in a few other places, but it looks to me that they directly copied Bayramgül’s recipe. And if you’re going to copy someone at least have the decency to give them credit…

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I did veganise the recipe by swapping out the dairy. Aside from that I followed the available recipes, only adding my own mark to the dish when it came to plating.

These turned out so good, even S loved them!

Now, I broke from tradition when I garnished using what I had on hand; Rocket, Sprouted Lentils and Chickpeas, my own Vegan Queso. S insisted it all complimented itself so perfectly I should add it all to the recipe. But, the Queso is a recipe for another day…

Aubergine Stacks

Servings: 5-6
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients

1 Aubergine
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Water
2 Tablespoons Rice Bran Oil (or your preferred oil)
1 Large Tomato, Deseeded and Diced
1/2 Yellow Pepper, Diced
1 Clove of Garlic, Minced
10g Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, Stems Removed and Diced
10g Fresh Dill, Stems Removed and Diced
Juice of half a Lemon
Pinch of Salt
Plain Soy Yogurt
Chilli Flakes
Dried Mint

Directions

Cut your Aubergine into slices about 1 cm thick. Places slices in a bowl with salt and enough water to cover. Let them soak for 15 minutes.
While they are soaking you can prepare the filling. (It’s basically a salsa loaded fresh Dill and Parsley!) Dice and combine the Tomato, Pepper, Garlic and Herbs. And Lemon Juice and Salt and mix well.
Drain the Aubergine slices thoroughly, while you heat oil in a skillet. Arrange Aubergine slices in a single layer and sauté, turning once, until both sides are browned. Move finished slices to a wire rack while you cook the next layer.
To assemble, place one slice of Aubergine on the plate, spoon on a generous amount of the Tomato filling, top with another Aubergine slice, a spoon of the Soy Yogurt, a pinch of Chilli Flakes and Dried Mint.

Our Soy Yogurt of choice is Alpro’s “Go On”. It is hands down the best Natural Yogurt/Sour Cream/Creme Fraiche alternative that we have tried to date (the only possible exception being homemade cashew stuff). Plus we love that it’s high in protein, low in sugar, contains probiotics, vitamins D and B12 and sounds like it got it’s name from Father Ted!

CategoriesAppetisers Summer Turkmen

Aubergine Stacks