cute kitchen

This is probably not the most „photo-pretty“ dish but the combined flavours pack a real punch, it’s filled with deliciously succulent eggplant and always leaves the kids particularly happy.

I’ve used whatever vegetables I had in the fridge here, so feel free to experiment with whatever takes your fancy! Be careful not to cook the meatballs for too long to avoid them drying out. They will let out a lot of their oils and juices, so either mix this through the cous-cous or coat the meatballs in the liquid after cooking (sort of like basting a roast chicken).

I served this meal with steamed broccoli to add greens to the meal but a fresh green salad would fit just as well.

I haven’t given instructions on how to cook the cous-cous, as I assume that most people have their own way of going about this. I generally put some dry cous-cous into a bowl, cover with boiling hot water so that the water comes to about 1cm above the levelled out cous-cous, cover the bowl with a snug fitting plate and leave to steam cook for about 5-10 minutes. As a finishing touch I add about one tablespoon of olive oil to the cooked cous-cous and fluff up with a fork.

Ingredients for 4 people

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 eggplants, cut into 1.5cm cubes

800g mince

1 egg, lightly beaten

100g feta, crumbled

15g parsley, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. olive oil

4 Tbsp. panko crumbs

2 tsp. Gochujang (Korean chilli paste)

330g chickpeas (drained)

2 medium sized heads of broccoli, cut into florets

• preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Mix the eggplant cubes with 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. Bake in the oven on a piece of baking paper for 20 minutes. Stir well to coat with the oil and then remove from oven

• mix all remaining ingredients (except for the chickpeas and the broccoli :)). Form into bite size meatballs and place on a baking paper lined oven tray, scatter the chickpeas around the meatballs and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 12 minutes (until just cooked through, but still nice and moist)!

• while the meatballs are cooking, make enough cous-cous for 4 people and mix with the baked eggplant. Season very well!

• steam broccoli until just cooked but still crunchy (about 3-4 minutes)

• when the meatballs are done, spoon any juices into the cous-cous mix and stir well

• serve the meatball and chickpea mix with the eggplant cous-cous and steamed broccoli. Delicious!