Eggplant and Brown Rice Bake

I made this today for our family lunch ... it managed to feed 10 hungry people and seemed to please everyone from hard core vegans to staunch carnivores.

We served it with a big salad (thanks Kate!), some crumbled feta and some ciabatta bread.

Eggplant and Brown Rice Bake

2 cups brown rice
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large eggplant, peeled
3 large red capsicums, cored and sliced
1 tin chopped italian tomatoes or passata
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup frozen spinach, cooked and drained
2 packets tofu, or if you are not catering for vegans try 1 tofu and 1 feta
large handful of basil
pepper, salt and chilli

Firstly, boil the brown rice in a large saucepan of salted water for 30-40 minutes until just tender.

In a food processor finely chop the onion and garlic, and then cook these in a large frypan coated with spray oil. Using the food processor again (you don't need to clean it out obviously) chop the eggplant and capsicums, then add these to the frypan. Cook over a moderate heat.

Meanwhile use the food processor to puree the tofu (and the feta if using) and basil.

In a very large casserole dish or lasagne pan place the brown rice, the frypan mixture, the tofu mixture, the stock, the tomatoes, and the seasonings and mix well. You could top it with cheese if you felt so inclined.

(It can be cooked ahead to this point and left overnight)

Bake for 45 minutes in a moderate oven.