Instructions
Follow the steps and taste along the way.
Bake the eggplants
Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Halve the eggplants lengthwise and score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern, taking care not to cut through the skin. Brush them with 15 ml olive oil, sprinkle with 1 g salt, and place them cut-side up on a baking sheet. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the flesh yields easily to a fork.
Cook the lentils and prepare the bulgur
Rinse the lentils and simmer them in 600 ml water with 1 g salt for 20–25 minutes, until tender but still holding their shape. Drain them. Put the bulgur in a bowl, pour over 200 ml boiling water mixed with 1 g salt, cover, and leave to soak for 12 minutes. Then fluff it with a fork.
Cook the tomato base
Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. Heat 10 ml olive oil in a pan and cook the onion for 5 minutes, until softened and lightly golden around the edges. Add the garlic, cumin, and smoked paprika; stir for 30 seconds. Pour in the passata, add 2 g salt and the black pepper, and let it simmer gently for 4 minutes.
Mix the filling
Remove the baked eggplants from the oven and leave them to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully scoop out the flesh, keeping the skins intact, and chop it. Stir it into the tomato mixture along with the lentils and bulgur. Mix in the remaining 10 ml olive oil, the juice of the whole lemon, and the chopped parsley. Divide the feta: crumble 70 g into the filling and set aside 30 g for the top.
Fill and bake briefly
Reduce the oven temperature to 200 °C. Fill the eggplant skins with the mixture and crumble the reserved 30 g feta over the top. Return them to the baking sheet and bake for 10–12 minutes, until the feta is warmed through and the filling begins to bubble gently around the edges. Serve hot.
