Aubergine stuffed with Spinach, Mushrooms and Black Eyes Beans, served with Bright Red Sauce.

Depression has descended upon North London. The wintry chill  and lack of daylight is bringing me down a bit. I am desperate to inject a bit of sunshine into my life this Sunday and so this week my roast is going to be a Mediterranean affair.

I have also discovered a lovely crisp fresh white wine which I got from Asda. Initially it was the hilarious label which attracted me: two naked men running through a field.  But Marlborough Sun Sauvignon Blanc is a truly scrummy wine which went well with this meal.

Anyway, I start by halving and scoring my aubergine. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes and take out ready to stuff a bit later. Meanwhile I make the aubergine filling: a stew with back eyes beans, mushrooms and spinach.

For the stew I fried onions and garlic in a pan with seasoning. Add the mushrooms. Add a splash of white wine, stock and the spinach. Then add a can of black eyed beans. I cooked this for about half an hour until the onions were soft. I'm a lemon obsessive and use lemons in everything. So a squeeze of lemon also went into the mix as well as a few chilli flakes.

Fill the aubergines with the bean mixture- it will be watery. I strained it a bit but wanted some of the juice to spill into the tray so that the Aubergines are really moist when cooked. Sprinkle some cheese on the top. I used a bit of soft goats cheese and some cheddar. Then bake for around half an hour until the cheese on top is brown and bubbling.

To make this dish much more Mediterranean, I made a bright red sauce with a bit of a chilli kick. I fried onion and garlic in a pan. Added some tomato puree and chilli sauce, a dash of lemon, sugar, and some seasoning. Delish. 

I served it with a handful of rocket. Very much more summery than it is outside and enjoyed eating it whilst watching Michel Roux Jr. on telly :)

My Recipe (serves two)

1 Large Aubergine
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 bag of spinach
1 can of black eyed beans
1 lemon
1 dash of white wine or two
2 large field mushrooms
1 vegetable stock cube
handful of grated cheese

For the sauce:
the remainder of the onion
1 garlic clove
tomato puree
chilli sauce
sugar 
squeeze of lemon juice and some zest
salt and pepper and chilli flakes