Stuffed Eggplant with Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower and Lemon

This recipe is inspired by the only organic chef in Lima, Peru.

He serves something like this but with lentils at the Bioferia organic market every Saturday in the Parque Reducto. This has a bit less olive oil, making it less heavy, but just enough to bring out the sweetness of the sweet potato and char the cauliflower. I served it as the appetizer at a dinner party, slicing the eggplant halves into four  or five 2″ slice. You could also eat it as a main course, or a very large side dish.

Stuffed Eggplant with Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower and Lemon

2 large eggplants
1/2 cauliflower
1 small sweet potato or yam
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil, divided
Half a lemon

Preheat oven to 375F. You’ll need two baking sheets. First, slice the eggplants in half. Brush the cut sides with 1 tsp of the oil, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Place in oven for about 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the cauliflower into small 1/2″ pieces, even the stem. Do the same with the peeled sweet potato. Toss with 2 tsp olive oil and the salt. Spread on the second baking sheet. Place on a second rack in oven for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes remove cauliflower and sweet potato and turn over. Replace in oven for 5-10 more minutes, until soft. Remove from oven and scrape into a bowl with most of the parsley (reserve a sprinkle for garnish) and the juice of half a lemon.

The eggplant should be done sometime around now (it depends how long it took you to cut the sweet potato and cauliflower), so remove it from the oven and turn over. Let cool a few minutes, then scoop out about 1/2 cup of the flesh, being careful not to tear the skin. Reserve flesh for snacking later…or eat right away.

Fill half scooped out eggplant with roasted vegetable and parsley mixture. Return to oven for 5 minutes to warm. Sprinkle with more parsley to garnish.

Variations: add diced olives, sundried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or cooked lentils to the mix before reheating. Or roast carrots, zucchini, fennel or other vegetables along with the cauliflower and sweet potato.