I love the flavors of Mediterranean food. Hummus (made with chickpeas and tahini), baba ghanoush (an eggplant spread), tabouleh (cracked whole wheat with lemon and lots of chopped parsley) add up to a vegetarian feast.

This recipe, from the August issue of Eating Well magazine, combines all those flavors in a new way. Saute eggplant and garlic in olive oil, then stir it together with chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and chopped parsley. The recipe suggest arranging the mixture on a platter with sliced onion, tomatoes, feta and olives, but I chopped those ingredients and added them to the chickpea mixture, then stuffed it into whole-wheat feta along with leaves of lettuce from the farmers market. To munch alongside, I peeled some farmers-market cucumbers and cut them into spears. The result was an easy and refreshingly different Sunday lunch.

MIDDLE EASTERN CHICKPEA PLATTER

Yield: 4 servings

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small eggplant (about 12 ounces), cubed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt, divided

2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon water

1 (15- to 19-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for optional garnish

2 medium tomatoes, sliced or chopped

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced or diced

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved or chopped

4 whole-wheat pita breads, warmed and cut into halves or wedges

Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add eggplant, garlic and 1/8 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is soft and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk tahini, lemon juice, water and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Stir in chickpeas, parsley and eggplant mixture.

Arrange chickpea mixture on a platter with sliced tomatoes, onion, crumbled feta, halved olives and pitas. Serve at once or cover and chill up to 4 hours. If desired, garnish with parsley.

Alternately, stir chopped tomatoes, onion, olives and feta into chickpea mixture; serve as a filling for pita halves.

Per serving: 313 calories; 11g fat; 3g sat. fat; 5g mono fat; 8mg cholesterol; 46g carbs; 11g protein; 10g fiber; 563mg sodium; 622mg potatassium.

Recipe adapted from Eating Well magazine, www.eatingwell.com. Photo courtesy of Eating Well.