Delicious roasted and smoky eggplants stuffed with ground beef or lamb and middle eastern spices and a rich tomato sauce, what else could you ask for?
I love middle eastern food combining spices, spicy kick and sweet dried fruits. This dish is an amazing balance of flavors that you can eat with perfumed couscous and a delicious ajvar (a roasted red pepper and eggplant based condiment).
The first step to the recipe is to cook your eggplants. First off, cut your eggplants in a squared pattern almost to the skin without piercing it. Add salt on top and let it rest for around 10 minutes. Use a paper towel to extract the excess moisture after 10 minutes. This process will extract some of the bitterness of the eggplant. After this, baste the eggplant with some olive oil. Cook them in the oven at 400F for 30 minutes until tender. The goal is to be able to scoop up the meat with a spoon to mix with your meat mixture.
While the eggplants are cooking, go at your stuffing mixture which will create wonderful aromas in the kitchen while it simmers the meat, spices and tomato based sauce! You’ll have to take the scooped eggplant meat and mix in your meat mixture and simmer further.
Once your meat mixture is ready, stuff your eggplants and put them in the oven at 350F for around 20 minutes.
What to eat with it?
You can serve this dish over a bed of lemony couscous and some delicious ajvar as a condiment.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb of mix of beef and lamb
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp of coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley + more to serve
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp of roasted pine nuts
- 2 tbsp golden raisins
- 1/4 cup of beef broth
- 1 14 oz can of cherry tomatoes with juice
- 1 tsp of kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp of ground pepper
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 eggplants
Instructions
- Heat the oven at 400F.
- Cut the eggplants in half and score them in a square pattern without piercing the skin.
- Add salt and let it rest for 10 minutes. It will remove some of the moisture and bitterness. Remove excess moisture with paper towels.
- Baste with olive oil.
- Put in the oven for 30 minutes, or until tender.
- Empty the eggplant meat from the shells. These will be your vessels to put the final meat mixture.
- Cook the beef and / or lamb in a skillet over medium heat with a tbsp of olive oil for 2 minutes.
- Add the red onion and garlic to the skillet and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, beef broth, spices, chopped parsley and golden raisins. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the eggplant meat and simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring to combine everything together.
- Stuff your eggplants with the meat mixture and cook at 350F for 20 minutes.
- Serve on a bed of couscous and sprinkle with chopped parsley and roasted pine nuts.
Nutrition Information
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
