Dinner with Rukmini
Browse all of the recipes in Rukmini Iyer’s cookbooks by ingredient.
Cinnamon-spiced Aubergines with Feta Cheese, Olives and Herbed Bulgur Wheat
Elevate your packed lunch with this easy spiced aubergine traybake. Substantial and full of flavour, it's a cost effective and delicious alternative to buying lunch out.
From the book
The Quick Roasting Tin
75 fast and simple one dish recipes to revolutionise the way you cook
Leave the hard work to the oven with minimal prep and less washing up
From fast dinners to simple desserts
Introduction
This lunchbox salad is really something to look forward to come 1pm. The herbed bulgur is absolutely delicious with the roasted aubergines, sharp feta cheese and pops of sweetness from the pomegranate seeds. It’s lovely at room temperature, or warmed through if you can.
Ingredients
| 200g | bulgur wheat, rinsed |
| 400ml | vegetable stock |
| 100g | green pitted olives |
| 1 | large aubergine, sliced into ½cm half moons |
| 1 | red onion, thickly sliced |
| 1 scant tsp | ground cinnamon |
| ½ | a nutmeg, grated |
| 1 tsp | sea salt flakes |
| 2 tbsp | olive oil |
| 25g | flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped |
| 100g | rocket, finely chopped |
| 1 | lemon, juice only, plus more if needed |
| 1 tbsp | extra virgin olive oil |
| 200g | feta cheese, crumbled |
| 1 | pomegranate, seeds only |
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/gas 7.
You will need two roasting tins for this dish: trust me I’ve tried doing it all in just one tin, and the aubergines do not like it. Tip the bulgur wheat, vegetable stock and olives into a smaller roasting tin while you get on with slicing the aubergines and onion.
Mix the vegetables with the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and olive oil in a second roasting tin, large enough to hold everything in a single layer. Transfer both roasting tins to the oven for 25 minutes, until the aubergines are crisp and cooked through and the bulgur wheat is fluffy, with all the stock absorbed.
Stir the greens, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil through the bulgur wheat, then taste and adjust the salt and lemon juice as needed.
Let everything cool down, then transfer the bulgur wheat into lunchboxes, top with the roasted aubergines and scatter the feta cheese and pomegranate seeds over the top.
Refrigerate until needed.
MAKE IT VEGAN:
Leave out the feta cheese at the end and add a tin of drained, rinsed chickpeas with the aubergines at step 2 for some added protein.
