Serves: 4-6A delicious vegtarian dish that would also work well with fish, lamb or chicken

The stuffed eggplants can be made a day or two in advance then reheated. This dish is good served with fish, lamb or chicken.

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for cooking
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stick celery, thinly sliced
3 eggplants, halved lengthways, flesh scooped out and diced 2cm, outside skins reserved
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
1⁄2 teaspoon ground allspice
400g can crushed tomatoes
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
11⁄2 cups brown or green lentils
1⁄2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leafed parsley, plus extra to serve
1⁄2 cup coarsely chopped coriander, plus extra to serve
juice of 1 large lemon
200g goat’s cheese (such as goat’s feta or chevre), crumbled
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over moderate heat then add the onion, carrot, celery, eggplant flesh (reserve the skins) and garlic. Fry gently for 10 minutes or until the onion is soft.

Add the paprika, allspice, tomatoes and vinegar to the saucepan and mix well. Bring to the boil then simmer
for 5 minutes or until thick. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Spoon the tomato mixture into the reserved eggplant skins and place them side by side in a roasting dish just big enough to hold them.

Drizzle plenty of oil over the eggplant filling and a little into the roasting dish. Add enough water to the roasting dish to come one-third of the way up the sides of the eggplants then place in the oven for 1 hour or until well cooked. Remove from the oven then carefully take the eggplants out of the water and set aside to cool to warm.

Meanwhile, cook the lentils in a large saucepan of boiling water until tender. Drain well then place in a bowl. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season. Just before serving, stir the chopped parsley and coriander and the lemon juice into the warm lentils.

Serve the eggplants on the lentils with the goat’s cheese, sesame seeds and extra herbs sprinkled on top.