In the 6 weeks I spent traveling around Mexico, I don’t ever remember seeing any eggplant. So I’m sure this dish is completely inauthentic.
However, I love Mexican flavours and thought they would be lovely stuffed into roast eggplant instead of the ubiquitous tortilla.
And I was right!
Full disclosure, I normally use pork for this so the green of the herbs shows up in the meat. But I accidentally grabbed some beef instead during my filming. Both versions taste delicious so it ended up being a happy mistake.
I love roasting eggplant in a super hot oven like this because it’s so much quicker. However it’s important you set your timer so you don’t end up with a burnt disaster
And when I was developing this recipe, we tried a heap of different toppings. While the sour cream and mayo options were good, this feta was the surprise winner. So fresh and salty.
Mexican Roast Eggplant with Green Chorizo
Ingredients
- 2 smallish eggplant (aubergine)
- 450 g ground (minced) pork (1lb) or ground (minced) beef
- 1-3 jalapeño chilli peppers or other fresh chilli, chopped
- 2 bunches coriander (cilantro) cilantro
- 3-4 tablespoons lime juice
- 100 g feta (3oz) crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat your oven on the highest setting. Cut eggplant in half and place on a roasting sheet cut side up. Slash the flesh by cutting through about 2cm (1in) deep in a criss cross pattern. Drizzle the cut side with oil and sprinkle over a pinch of salt. Roast eggplant for 20-25 minutes or until soft and well browned.
- While the eggplant is cooking, brown pork / beef in a frying pan with a little oil. Keep a few coriander leaves aside to serve and finely chop the remaining stems and leaves.
- When the meat is browned, add the chilli and herbs and cook, stirring for 2 minutes or until herbs have cooked down. Remove from the heat. Add lime juice. Taste and season with salt and more lime if needed.
- When the eggplant is cooked divide between two serving plates. Spoon over the meat mixture. Top with crumbled feta and reserved coriander (cilantro) leaves.
WINE MATCH: A cold beer (preferably Dos Equis) OR a crisp glass of dry citrussy Riesling.
Variations & Substitutions
pantry-friendly eggplant = sweet potato (increase cooking time to 30-40 minutes or until sweet potato is soft. Skip the coriander. Vinegar for lime juice. Dried chilli or hot sauce.
vegetarian – chickpeas, lentils or black beans instead of the meat.
different veg – sweet potato or regular potatoes are also lovely stuffed like this. Zucchini or red capsicum (bell peppers) will also work. Just adjust cooking time so the veg are tender.
more substantial (carb lovers) – serve with warm tortillas or flat bread.
more substantial (low carb) – add olive oil, mayo or roast hazelnuts (or other nuts).
Italian vibe – replace coriander with basil and add a handful halved cherry tomatoes to the beef. And parmsean instead of the feta.
no coriander – use flat leaf parsley.
dairy-free – use mayo or roast nuts instead of the feta. Hazelnuts would be my pick. But almonds will work.
actual chorizo – feel free to use crumbled chorizo instead of the plain minced meat.
hot! – keep the seeds in your chilli and serve with some tobasco or other hot sauce.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
eggplant – will keep for a few weeks in a plastic bag in the fridge. For longer, sliced and rub with oil and grill until soft and browned. Can be frozen if needed.
minced (ground) pork or beef – freeze it.
jalapeños or other fresh chilli – will keep for months in the fridge. Can be frozen or left unwrapped in the fridge they will slowly turn into dried chillies and still be edible.
coriander – best to use for another meal. Can be frozen but will wilt when defrosted.
lime – will keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for months.
feta – keeps for months unopened in its packet. Or can be frozen. Or you could make a marinated feta by putting it in a super clean jar from the dishwasher and covering with oil and then keeping it in the fridge. Sometimes I like to add flavourings like bay leaves, lemon zest and pepper corns or chilli.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just make as per the recipe but keep the feta and coriander / cilantro separately. Will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, warm in a hot oven for 10 minutes then scatter over herbs and cheese.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
I too went for the Italian variation, and vegetarian, so cooked the dried green lentils that I had, adding a tin of tomatoes, some garlic powder and veg stock powder later, and roasted one eggplant, one sweet potato, 2 potatoes that needed using up, and 2 zucchini added later to the roasting trays as some concession to a green vegetable. Lashings of shaved Parmesan. Good.
Also, did you scoop out the eggplant flesh from the skin? The latter had charred on mine, not enough to go soft, but enough to make it hard to separate the two.
I like to eat both the flesh and the skin – but if the skin is burnt or too tough I scoop out the flesh and leave it. If you struggled to separate the 2 sounds like it could have been cooked a little more. Maybe try that next time.
And I think some eggplant just have tougher skin – so it could have been that.
Nice one Mark! I’m looking forward to eggplant season.
I’m trying this one with basil and tomato and parmesan. I don’t like cilantro, and I can use cayenne in the beef for heat. Thanks! I haven’t eaten an aubergine in quite a while. 🙂
ooh yum COlleen!
Love the idea of doing a mediterranean version. Enjoy!
You had it as a substitution. 😉 I added dried basil and fresh basil to the meat plus a chopped up tomato and mushrooms, and I used cayenne as I didn’t have any chillis. I have some meat left over, so I will reheat that with and maybe roast a red pepper and some courgettes to go with it. You’re helping me think outside the pan! 🙂
So proud Colleen 🙂
Hmmm. Basil, I see, is another variation we will both enjoy. ?
Do!
I’m a cilantro fan but Charles has the gene “this cilantro tastes like soap” so I have to use parsley! He’d love this mostly with sweet potatoes!
Isn’t it fascinating Kris that people’s taste buds can be so completely different.
Mint or basil will work too. And sweet potato would be excellent too!