Ingredients

• 2 Aubergines (eggplants), chopped into cubes
• 2 red onions, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly slices
• 250 grams firm tofu, scrambled in a food processor
• 1 teaspoon jalapeños in adobe sauce, ground into paste
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 can ripe tomatoes, whole
• Red chili pepper flakes
• Dried oregano
• Fresh thyme, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Prep Instructions

1. In a large skillet heat up the oil.
2. Add garlic, onions, thyme, tomato paste and jalapeños in adobe sauce and cook for 5 minutes mixing frequently. Do not burn it!!! So watch it closely and focus.
3. Add cubed aubergines (eggplants) and mix with the sauteed ingredients so all the flavors are mixed and absorbed into eggplant.
4. Top with 1 can of ripe tomatoes and sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried oregano.
5. Cover with a lid and cook on medium low heat for 30 minutes. Check after that if egg plant is soft. Depending on how well cooked eggplant you like decide if you want to cook some more. I like my cooked eggplant al-dente style.

Nutrition Facts & Tips

Although it’s technically a fruit (a berry, to be exact), the aubergine is used as a vegetable. It’s native to South-East Asia, but is grown all over the world, and there are many different varieties, including the bulbous, glossy, deep purple zepplin-like types common to Mediterrean cuisine; the small, tubular Asian types; the small, plump and ivory examples (hence ‘eggplant’, its name in the United States and Australia); or the scarcely-bigger-than-a-pea varieties grown in Thailand. All varieties share the same bland, mildly smokey flavour and flesh that’s spongey when raw but soft when cooked.

Nutritional perks

Aubergines are an excellent source of dietary fibre. They are also a good source of vitamins B1 and B6 and potassium. In addition it is high in the minerals copper, magnesium and manganese.

A 100g serving of raw aubergine provides is 25kcal of energy with 1g protein, 0.2g of fat, 6g of low-glycemic index carbohydrate and 3.4g fibre.

Aubergines are rich in antioxidants, specifically nasunin found in aubergine skin – which gives it its purple colour. A potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger, nasunin has been found to protect the lipids (fats) in brain cell membranes. Cell membranes are almost entirely composed of lipids and are responsible for protecting the cell and helping it to function. The lipid layer is crucial for letting nutrients in, wastes out and receiving instructions from messenger molecules that tell the cell what to do.