Chocolate Eggplant Brownies, a Father's Day surprise package

Eggplant in Brownies, what next? When I saw this Brownie recipe including eggplant, and I had a large glossy black eggplant languishing in my fruit bowl which needed to be used,  my interest was piqued. This is the result. I seem to be including fruit and vegetables into the cakes, and desserts I make more and more these days, reducing calories, adding fibre, trying to stay healthy,  which also means I can still feel as if I'm indulging on a regular basis  without feeling guilty. Do you know what I mean? There is a plethora of Brownies recipes in circulation now, some including cooked beetroot, pears, or whatever your little heart desires really. I wanted to make Mr. HRK something nice for a Father's Day treat, as our children aren't in town, and Father's Day is a good excuse to make something special.

It's well know amongst our friends that Mr. HRK isn't a fan of eggplant unless it is very well hidden, so baking this brownie was a risky venture, however my friends honestly, eggplant in this recipe is so well integrated with the other ingredients such as the dark chocolate that it is undetectable and I love cooking with dark chocolate don't you? Brilliant, Dr. Mosley, you have come up with a winner. This is my version of his recipe. I prefer using hazelnut meal which I think marries with the chocolate beautifully, however I have also made this with the almond meal and it is still tasty. Of course a Brownie without any sugar in it, isn't going to be as sweet as the traditional one, however it still suits my palate to enjoy it with a nice coffee, and served with the Raspberry Chia Jam it transcends into a delicious choice for dessert or for morning or afternoon tea. It is such a cinch to make, I recommend that you try it.

 Let's Cook:

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, about 200g, peeled and diced
150g dark chocolate (minimum 70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into pieces
60g coconut oil
60 soft pitted dates, diced
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking powder
80g ground hazelnuts or substitute almonds if that is what you had on hand





Method:

Preheat the oven to 170 deg. C.
Microwave the eggplant until it's soft, only a couple of minutes, or steam it for 15 minutes  until soft.
Put the eggplant in a medium-sized bowl and stir in the chocolate and coconut oil.
The warm eggplant will melt the chocolate and oil, yes it really does. Add the chopped dates and salt.
Using a hand blender, blitz the mixture until it's smooth, or use your food processor.



It will now be cool enough to add the eggs and baking powder.
Blitz for another minute or so, then mix in the ground hazelnuts.

Spread the mixture onto a medium-sized slice baking tray lined with baking parchment, and bake in the preheated over for bout 20 minutes. It is cooked when a knife or skewer comes out clean.

Serve the brownies with Raspberry Chia Jam, recipe below, or even just some Jam such as Raspberry or Rosella or some full-fat organic Greek Yoghurt.

Oh and I nearly forgot, to serve them,  I dusted the brownies with sifted icing sugar.

Raspberry Chia Jam

This is a delicious fruity low-sugar jam, which is easy to make, and can also double as a coulis stirred into yoghurt.

30-40g pitted dates, finely diced (or substitute with 1-2 tsp maple syrup)
125g raspberries (frozen or fresh)
2-3 tsp chia seeds (depending on how thick you like it)

Heat the dates gently in a small pan with 2 tbsp water for about 2 minutes, stirring to form a smooth paste. Add the raspberries and chia seeds and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Mash the raspberries with a potato masher or the back of a spoon. The jam can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

 On a Spring gardening note, this is my first  Hippeastrum  Lilly to come out in flower for Spring. I broke up a lot of bulbs this year, gave many away to friends, and planted some out in pots. This red one is in a pot and is flowering before those in the ground so I might do more of that next year. This was taken in full sun hence the shading on the red petals. If you have the space, these make a  beautiful show planted en masse, and are very hardy. I can't grow tulips in the tropics, so I grow Hippeastrums. Only two sleeps until Spring, and I can't wait.

Best wishes

Pauline

xx