Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for walnut-stuffed aubergines | The new vegan

A tangy, garlicky sauce given texture and crunch by breadcrumbs and walnuts, spiked with spice, and melded with creamy baked aubergine

The aubergine has an air of mystery to it until it hits the oven. Various food writers over time have argued over whether it should be salted to remove any bitterness (it shouldn't) and whether it needs drenching in oil to cook (it doesn't), but, when cooked in the oven, there's only one way the aubergine will go, and that is creamy - and, because of that, a baked aubergine is as popular in my house as a jacket potato. The only thing up for debate is what to stuff it with. Here, I've used walnuts and peppers, loosely inspired by the Levantine dip muhammara.