Stuffed aubergines

 This recipe  combining the techniques used for an Italian dish,  and a Turkish dish. It is nourishing and filling, and makes a complete, delicious vegetarian meal, or it can be used as  accompaniment to another dish.

150 ml extra virgin olive oil
3 medium aubergines, rinsed and halved lengthwise
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the stuffing

2 onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
450g ripe tomatoes, chopped
3 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon tomato paste diluted with 150 ml hot water

Preheat the oven to 190 C
Heat half the olive oil in a large skillet/frying pan, add 3 pieces of the aubergine and shallow-fry about 15 min, turning them over, until light golden on both sides.
Remove and rest on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces. Arrange them side by side in a shallow ovenproof dish and season well with salt and pepper.

To make the stuffing, heat the remaining olive oil in a saucepan, add the onions and sautè gently until they start to color. Add the garlic and cumin, fry for 3 min., then add the tomatoes and oregano.
Put the 165 ml water and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the parsley, then divide the stuffing into 6 equal portions. Pile each portion along the length of each aubergine half.
Pour the diluted tomato paste into the dish and cook in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, basting the aubergines once during cooking.
Serve hot.
Buon Appetito
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