Spinach and ricotta stuffed shells
Pasta shells filled with spinach and ricotta beneath a tomato sauce.
About 55 min · 540 kcal · 30 g protein per serving
Vegetarian
Baked aubergine with feta, tomato and mint
Aubergine roasted until collapsing, with tomato, feta and mint.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 20 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm scored aubergine halves collapse in 30 to 35 minutes at 200°C
- Photograph the finished dish
- Time
- About 57 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 575 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 26 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
Contains gluten, milk. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- chopped tomatoes. Tinned tomatoes vary in added salt; the sodium figure uses a standard salted tin.
- feta. Some feta is made with animal rennet; check the label if you are vegetarian.
- pitas. Pita can contain soya or sesame; check the label.
Cooking steps
Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan). Halve the aubergines lengthways.
Score the cut faces in a deep diamond pattern, going most of the way through but not to the skin. Brush with the oil and roast cut side up for 30 to 35 minutes, until collapsed and soft through to the centre.
Meanwhile soften the sliced garlic in a small pan, add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until thick.
Fold in the drained butter beans and warm them through for 3 minutes, turning them over rather than stirring so they stay whole.
Spoon the sauce and beans over the roasted aubergine halves, break the feta up over the top and return to the oven for 10 minutes.
Warm the pita and serve with the mint torn over at the last moment.
The useful detail
Score the cut face in a diamond pattern before roasting. It lets the heat into the middle, so the flesh collapses evenly instead of staying raw and spongy under a browned surface.
Make it work for you
One serving is One aubergine half with sauce, feta and a pita. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
Soft goat's cheese instead of feta
Creamier and less salty; it melts rather than holding its shape.
Per serving: about the same energy, about 2 g more protein, about the same fat.
Courgette instead of aubergine
Much quicker, about 20 minutes, and far wetter. Salt and drain it first.
Per serving: about 20 kcal less, about 1 g more protein, about the same fat.
Flatbread instead of pita
Thinner and crisper.
Per serving: about 15 kcal more, about the same protein, about 2 g more fat.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A vegetarian dinner where the butter beans carry most of the protein and the feta carries the flavour, which is how a small amount of a salty cheese goes a long way.
| Energy | 575 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 26 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| of which saturates | 8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 85 g |
| of which sugars | 16 g |
| Fibre | 21 g |
| Sodium | 1,480 mg |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| aubergine | 500 g | FDC 169228Eggplant, raw | 125 kcal | 4.9 g |
| olive oil | 9 g | FDC 171413Oil, olive, salad or cooking | 80 kcal | 0.0 g |
| garlic | 10 g | FDC 169230Garlic, raw | 15 kcal | 0.6 g |
| chopped tomatoes | 400 g | FDC 170051Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice | 64 kcal | 3.2 g |
| butter beans | 250 g | FDC 175204Beans, white, mature seeds, cannedFoodData Central has no record for tinned butter beans, which are mature lima beans. Calculated as tinned white beans, the closest tinned bean it records; the two are close in energy and protein, but your tin's label is the exact figure. | 285 kcal | 18.1 g |
| feta | 100 g | FDC 173420Cheese, feta | 265 kcal | 14.2 g |
| fresh mint | 10 g | FDC 173475Spearmint, freshFresh mint is 44 kcal per 100 g on FoodData Central 173475, so the few grams a recipe uses add 2 kcal at most. That record has no sugars value, so the mint is listed here rather than counted, which keeps the recipe's sugars calculable. | · | · |
| pitas | 120 g | FDC 174916Bread, pita, whole-wheat | 314 kcal | 11.8 g |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 1149 kcal | 52.8 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. Ingredients marked “Not calculated” are excluded and could add at most 3 kcal to the whole recipe. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 3 to 4 days. This is better on the second day; the aubergine takes on the tomato.
- In the freezer
- Freezing keeps food safe indefinitely; the texture is best if it is eaten sooner rather than later.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
Try another recipe
Mushroom and lentil cottage pie
A savoury mushroom-lentil filling with a soft potato topping.
About 1 hr · 360 kcal · 20 g protein per serving
Vegetarian