This mouthwatering dish includes Australian native ingredients and is the perfect option when looking to create a restaurant quality vegetarian meal. This recipe comes from Karkalla Restaurant in Byron Bay.
Ingredients
Roast eggplant
- 1 eggplant halved and scored
- 1/4 cup cooked jasmine rice warmed through
- 1 heaped teaspoon macadamia pieces roasted and salted (about 10g)
- 1 heaped teaspoon native currants (or regular currants)
- 1 heaped teaspoon muntries* (omit if not available)
- 1 heaped teaspoon sunflower seeds
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- Splash of olive oil
- Sea salt
Macadamia cream
- 50 grams macadamia spread/butter
- 50 grams warm water
- Pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
To serve
- Fresh coriander, dill, mint, sea parsley and karkalla**
Instructions
- Heat a fry pan with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Place the eggplant, score side down, in the pan and cook until caramelised. Then place the eggplant in a hot oven and cook through (8-10 minutes) until soft and tender.
- Carefully scrape the cooked eggplant flesh into a bowl, draining away any excess moisture. Stir through the rice, macadamias, currants, muntries and sunflower seeds. Season with lemon juice and olive oil. Taste and add salt as required.
- Prepare the macadamia cream by blending all ingredients together in a food processor until smooth.
- To serve, dress the plate with macadamia cream. Return eggplant mixture to eggplant skin and dress liberally with fresh herbs and native succulents. Serve immediately.
Notes
*Muntries are small white native fruits, reminiscent of blueberries. The Australian Native Food Industry Food Limited describes the fruit as tasting like “apple with a juniper essence, a spicy apple taste”.
**Karkalla is a native succulent also known as pigface. It grows among sand dunes and on cliff faces around the Australian coastline. It is light and salty with a juicy crunch. Cultivated karkalla can be found at farmers markets and select greengrocers.
Nutrition
Calories: 334kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 5gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gSodium: 8mgPotassium: 640mgFiber: 9gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 54IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 2mg
