I know I still owe you the cardamom-garlic roll recipe and I promise to write it down soon! In the meantime I have to share this easy and delicious recipe for stuffed eggplants with you. I used canned fava beans for the filling, but you could use any kind of bean or even chickpeas. The sauce is pretty versatile, too. Try different nut butters and parsley or cilantro instead of the basil.

Eggplants stuffed with beans

Fava Bean Stuffed Eggplants with Basil-Yoghurt Sauce

For the stuffed eggplant:
1 medium eggplant (350 g)
1 15 oz (420 g) can fava beans (broad beans), drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika or chipotle powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup unsweetened soy yoghurt
15 g (1/4 cup packed) fresh basil
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Half the eggplant lengthwise and carefully cut into the flesh crosswise:

preparing the eggplant

Place onto baking sheet (cut side down) and bake for 30 minutes or until soft.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth (I used my mini food processor). Set aside.

Remove eggplant from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Don’t turn off the oven.

Take the eggplant halves and carefully scoop out the flesh. Set skins aside. Transfer flesh to food processor. Add lemon juice, garlic, and spices. Process until smooth. In a bowl, mix the puréed eggplant flesh with fava beans and fill eggplant skins. Bake for another 15 minutes. Serve over arugula and with sauce on top.

By the way, it’s asparagus season in Germany. White asparagus, to be precise. Everyone over here loves that stuff and it is one of few foods that everyone buys locally. Good white asparagus has to be fresh. I found a bunch of perfectly fresh asparagus at a booth and used it to make two test recipes for Melisser. They called for green asparagus, but in Germany the green stuff is imported from Spain or Morocco. So let’s stick to the white:

Pasta with Asparagus in Lemon Cream Sauce

This creamy pasta dish was so delicious we decided to make it again. We’re sharing this with some guests tonight!

Asparagus Almondine

This looks a bit naked, but it was wonderful! We served the dish with rye bread smeared with Hass avocado. Weird but very tasty.