Spinach and Zucchini Ricotta cake with tomato and eggplant side dish

This is such great a vegetarian option for a meal. I spotted it in the latest Cuisine magazine (Issue 164). It hasn't appeared on their website yet, but I would highly recommend it.
Yes, I am being a bit lazy today and not jotting down the recipe, but you should soon be able to retrieve from the Cuisine website - or you could just buy the magazine.
I made it for a luncheon a couple of weeks ago and it went down a treat. And it was just as lovely warmed through the next day for our dinner.
The recipe is very similar to another post, the Zucchini Loaf, but with the addition of spinach and/or silver beet, more egg yolks and lots of fresh parsley.
Last week I went to make it again and tried to buy Ricotta at one of our very large (and usually fabulous)  local supermarkets. Apparently all brands of ricotta were sold out and they couldn't get more stock in the foreseeable future. It crossed my mind that this recipe was so popular - it emptied the shelves of ricotta in my area!!
Really only kidding.....but something is not quite right is it? Given that we have so many dairy cows and billions of litres of milk production in this country. Makes you wonder what the heck is going on.....
Anyway, back to the recipe. It is perfect for vegetarian dinner party or for that different, healthy and handy substantial lunch dish to transport to a family gathering. Which is exactly what I plan to do next week.
The recipe includes a lovely Eggplant and Tomato side dish which complements it beautifully.
Today's newsflash! ricotta is back on the shelves...
And by the way.... I am busy spreading the word about Eat my Books. For me, it is the best discovery this year!

makes a large round 'cake',  love the crispy bits of Parmesan on top

all those healthy vegetables inside!

with a tomato and eggplant side

Stuffing Eggplants

Glorious Eggplant

We have a number of vegetarian friends who love to try out my recipes, i.e. they are my willing guinea pigs. Actually thinking about that term makes me realise it is referring to animals who are 'tested' against their will which is what most vegetarians (and me) protest about, so not a good choice of words to describe my guest!
However that said, eggplants are relatively cheap at the moment (and I love their colour in our fruit bowl) so having one of our vegetarian friends over for dinner last week made me think I should try a recipe given to me by my foodie mate Elaine. I have made this dish several times before and I have experimented with different 'stuffing' combinations each time.
This time I used some left over cooked brown rice, the same spices, currants, a little finely chopped carrots and celery and sunflower seeds. I left out the peas, porridge, peanuts and tomato sauce (as in the recipe below) and grated a little Porcino hard cheese on top. It was still a great dish and M said he enjoyed it more than the fillet steak he cooked for the other guests.

stuffing

When needing a main vegetarian dish I think I will use brown rice from now on as it made the meal quite substantial. Next time (for a change) I might add some chopped dried apricots and/or preserved lemon.You could also add pine nuts or chopped cashews or almonds. I like that you can prepare them beforehand.
Give them a go, you can experiment quite a bit with your filling, the eggplant takes up all the flavours and they are really are quite delicious.

Eggplants ready for the oven

Listed recipe sprinkled with sunflower seeds

Serve the eggplants with a 'big' green salad on the side. My salad consisted of 3 types of lettuce, chopped cucumber and spring onions, lightly cooked green beans ( plunged into cold water and well drained) garnished with lightly toasted pumpkin seeds. Asparagus would be just wonderful too.  Our vegetarian guest had 3 servings!





Stuffed Eggplant

1. Cut eggplants in half long ways and remove centre, chop this into pieces and put aside. 

2. Salt case, leave 30mins rinse and pat dry with a paper towel.

3. In a large pan, saute onion and chopped eggplant. Add chopped tomatoes (tinned or fresh).

4. Add a dessert spoon of porridge, stir until thick.

5. Add about ½ tsp each of turmeric, ground cumin, coriander and ginger.

6. Add crushed garlic to taste (I usually use 2 cloves).

7. Simmer together until cooked (about 10mins).

8. Transfer to a bowl and add 1 cup frozen peas, sultanas and roasted peanuts.

9. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fill the eggplant shells and top with a little tomato sauce.

10. Place carefully in a well-oiled baking dish (or lined with baking paper), cover with foil.

11. Bake at 200°C for about 30mins to 1 hour until the shell is soft.

12. Towards the end of cooking remove foil cover, top with grated cheese and cook further      until golden brown on top.

Left overs for Sunday dinner, with a little HP sauce on the side