Eat Well For Less Aubergine Chilli Traybake
This easy vegetarian tray-bake recipe from Eat Well For Less is a clever twist on a classic chilli, using aubergines, chickpeas and kidney beans with a delicious melted cheese topping. It's a fail-safe budget dish that the whole family will love.
From the book
Eat Well For Less: Every Day
Budget-friendly family favourites
Easy recipes from the hit BBC series
Quick and simple midweek meals
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Introduction
Aubergines are really good at taking on flavours, and here they’re mixed with traditional chilli con carne flavours, chickpeas and red kidney beans, then topped with more aubergines to make a delicious one-pot chilli traybake. Finished with bubbling melted cheese, this is a hearty vegetarian dish.
Ingredients
| 3 | aubergines |
| 1 | onion, finely chopped |
| 3 | garlic cloves, finely grated |
| ½ tsp | dried thyme |
| 1 tsp | ground cumin |
| 2 tsp | mild chilli powder |
| ½ tsp | fine sea salt |
| 3 tbsp | tomato purée |
| 400g tin | chickpeas, drained and rinsed |
| 400g tin | red kidney beans, drained and rinsed |
| 400g tin | chopped tomatoes |
| 2 tsp | olive oil |
| 80g | light mature Cheddar cheese, grated |
| Freshly ground black pepper, to taste |
Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7.
Roughly chop one aubergine and place in a large, ovenproof dish or baking tin. Add the onion, garlic, thyme, cumin, chilli powder, salt and tomato purée and mix together well, getting your hands in to ensure everything is coated in the spices.
Add the chickpeas, kidney beans and tinned tomatoes. Pour 150ml of cold water into the empty tomato tin, swirl it around and add to the dish/tin, then mix once more.
Cut the remaining two aubergines in half lengthways and place, skin-side down, on a chopping board. Score the flesh in a criss-cross pattern using the tip of a sharp knife, then place them, skin-side down, in a single layer on top of the bean mixture. Drizzle the scored flesh with the olive oil and season with black pepper.
Cover the whole dish/tin with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes until the aubergines are tender. Preheat the grill to high.
Remove the foil from the aubergine dish/tin and scatter the cheese evenly over the top. Place under the hot grill for 3–4 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Serve immediately.
Cool any leftovers, then transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days (see Tip).
Tip: Any leftovers can be eaten cold or reheated in a microwave oven. To reheat, place one portion on a suitable heatproof plate, cover with a piece of kitchen paper and heat on high for 3 minutes until hot through. If not piping hot, heat on high for a further 20 seconds at a time until hot through, then serve.
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