I had the most amazing meal in Athens, Greece at a restaurant called Taverna Psara. It was an eggplant cup with fava beans and caramelized onions. I enjoyed it so much that I figured "I can make that".
Here goes!
Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
One eggplant (medium to small size)- cut in half and scoop out the inside so it is able to sit up right and will have room for the bean filling.
One can of beans (I chose cannelloni beans, but they had fava in the actual recipe).
One red bell pepper cut in pieces to roast
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt and pepper
One small white or yellow onion to caramelize
A food processor
Scoop out the inside of the eggplant.
Coat the inside (cup part) of the two halves of the eggplant with olive oil and salt and pepper.
Place the 2 halves of the eggplant (upside down) and the red pepper on a lined pan and allow to soften for about 35+ minutes.
As the eggplant and red peppers roast, put those inners along with the beans in the food processor with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic- pulsing together until creamy and smooth (like a hummus).
Then I turned my burner on medium low heat and let the onions caramelize for about 30 minutes (stirring often!).
Once the onions were finished, I assembled the eggplant cups. Scooping the eggplant/bean puree in the eggplant cup and then topping with some sliced, roasted red pepper and caramelized onions.
This was a nutritious and delish meal, but truthfully, not the same as in Greece.
Enjoy!