Dear Readers, it has occurred to me that I have yet to offer some of my favourite recipes with you. Sharing recipes was definitely something I wanted to do, so I hope you’ll enjoy seeing recipes become apart of the Homemaker’s Stitch.
This is a recipe I created when I used to live on my own and only had myself to feed. I largely ate a vegetarian diet because I have OTC deficiency, a rare genetic disorder. Because of it, I am very resistant to protein intake so I generally ate a vegetarian diet and this was filling meal I created that was quick, easy and super tasty.
Perfect Weeknight Meal
This is great weeknight meal because it doesn’t take long to prep or cook and I usually had it made in around thirty minutes. Because the dish includes rice and beans, I would have enough leftovers for lunch the next day too, making it a really great make ahead recipe.
Since it includes veggies that are fairly easy to wash and chop, this meal means there’s little clean up during or after prepping. After a long day sometimes these little details are wins.
While beans and rice in one dish might make this seem like this is a carb heavy meal, eating rice and beans together provides you with a complete protein. I preferred serving myself a half cup of cooked rice, leaving the rest for the next day and dividing the beans and eggplant mixture evenly, making the meal balanced and healthy.
Ingredients Breakdown
Made with only five main ingredients, this is also good for nights when you haven’t got a lot in the fridge. It can be made without the eggplant as well if you are really in a fix. If you love eggplant (and I really do) you are going to love this dish.
I use Asian eggplants because I find them less bitter than other types, which means you can skip salting and the time required to salt and sweat the eggplants.
If you don’t have garlic in the house, garlic powder can be substituted. Plain paprika can also be used instead of smoked paprika if unavailable.
If you don’t have fresh chilies on hand, try using red chili flakes instead for that spicy kick. If you are feeding littles, keep in mind that you can add in both fresh chilis or the red pepper flakes after removing a portion for your little one so that you can still enjoy the spice.
If you want to make this dish more Asian in flavour, substitute sesame seed oil for olive oil.
Easy Spicy Black Beans & Eggplant on Rice
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Add onions, salt and paprika if using, sauté a minute or so, then add the eggplants.
- Cook until eggplants and onions are soft.
- Add beans and cook until skins are just starting to come off the beans.
- Add garlic and chilli. Cook until aromatic then serve hot, with or without rice.
- Enjoy your spicy black beans and eggplants.
How Much Oil to Add
I would start with a good tablespoon in this recipe, eggplant can soak up oil like a sponge. If you are comfortable with adding more, add more oil as needed. If you don’t like too much oil, then you can add a bit of water or broth to help the eggplant cook. If you are using less oil be sure to add a splash of water or broth at the very end of cooking to deglaze the pan and blend all your flavours.
Serve and Enjoy
Friends, I hope you enjoy this recipe. Please be sure to provide me any feedback or thoughts, I would love to hear from you. I hope to share recipes from time to time, and I hope that they bless. your home.
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