Spiced Aubergine with Polenta

Spiced Aubergine with Polenta

Although we do not shop very much at Sainsbury's (except for gluten-free bread of course) we somehow acquired a Sainsbury's magazine.  Normally we pick up a free Morrison's magazine which often has some decent recipes or ideas but not sure if I had ever used a Sainsbury's one.  Well this time a recipe did catch my eye and it needed goats cheese which was great as we had a little left following a recent dinner party.

Anyway we thought we would share this one as it is healthy, vegetarian and gluten-free.  It also looks good on a plate.

The recipe said to use quick-cook polenta but we used ready cooked polenta and sliced it up before grilling.  The result is pretty much the same and it saved a bit of time.

What you will need for 2:

Ready made polenta (about 300g) sliced into 3 portions each.
1 aubergine cut into small chunks
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or hot paprika)
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
300g passata
1 tablespoon olive oil
15g flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
50g goats cheese crumbled

Method:

Brown the aubergine in a heavy based pan with olive oil and season.
Add the garlic and spices and stir till the aubergines are coated.
Add the passata and balsamic vinegar, simmer for 20 minutes.
Grill the polenta on both sides and arrange on a bed of salad leaves such as rocket and watercress or a baby leaf mix.
Stir the parsley into the sauce and pour over the polenta.
Crumble the goats cheese over it all so it just begins to melt.

The flavours in this dish were great.  The cinnamon and cayenne gave the dish a meditareanean/middle eastern feel which was really freshened up with the addition of parsley.  Balsamic vinegar and goats cheese gave it a welcomed tang.