Eggplant Stuffed With Almonds Currants And Rice Food

LEBANESE STYLE STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Hollow out each eggplant with a melon-ball cutter, working from bottom end and leaving about 1/3 inch eggplant flesh along interior walls.
• Rinse rice in a sieve under cold water until water runs clear. Drain well.
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Fry pine nuts, stirring frequently, until golden, about 3 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Sauté onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer 1/2 cup onion mixture to bowl with pine nuts. Add stock, tomatoes, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to skillet and simmer, uncovered, while stuffing eggplant.
• Add rice, meat, allspice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to bowl with onion mixture and mix well with your hands.
• Stuff eggplant with meat mixture, being careful not to pack tightly (rice will expand during cooking). Transfer stuffed eggplants to skillet with tomato sauce and simmer, covered, carefully turning once, until rice is cooked through, 50 minutes to 1 hour (cut 1 in half to test).
• If sauce is watery, transfer eggplant to a plate and boil sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, 3 to 5 minutes, then adjust seasoning if necessary. Return stuffed eggplant to sauce. Squeeze lemon over dish and sprinkle with parsley before serving.

ALMOND CURRANT RICE

Steps:

• Prepare rice according to package directions, adding butter and salt. Just before serving, stir in almonds and currants.

EGGPLANT CURRY WITH TOASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Prepare rice. While rice is simmering, start curry.
• Heat a deep, heavy bottomed nonstick skillet over medium to medium high heat. When the pan is hot, add oil, eggplant, onion, and bell pepper. Cover pan and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and add garlic; cook 1 minute more. Add tomatoes, chutney, curry, salt, and broth. Stir to combine and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes over low heat for flavors to combine. Remove curry from heat and stir in cilantro. Ladle eggplant curry into shallow bowls. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop rice balls into the center of bowls. Garnish your the and rice with lots of toasted sliced almonds and scallions or chives.
• Curry paste is available on the International Foods aisle of markets. The paste is deep red in color and will keep several months in the refrigerator.
• Vegetable stocks and broths are available in the soup aisle of market and are now widely available in paper containers with re-sealable spouts. If you use broths often in cooking, these paper containers are terrific to keep on-hand in your refrigerator.
• If you want to purchase just enough almonds to top this one recipe, check out the baking aisle of your market and look for either slivered or sliced almonds in a small 3-ounce pouch. Major Grey's mango chutney is available under many different brand names and can be found on both Condiment and International Foods aisles of market.

TURKISH STUFFED EGGPLANT WITH SPICY LAMB AND RICE

Steps:

• Lamb and Rice Filling
• Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, then add the onion and pepper, stir, and cook for 3-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and crumble in the ground meat. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes, until the meat has lost its pink color and the mixture is starting to dry out and brown a little in the pan. Tilt the pan and spoon out any excess fat from the lamb. Sprinkle in the seasonings, stir, then add the tomatoes and puree, then the stock. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to dissolve the brown bits that have accumulated. Add the rice and herbs, and stir and cook a couple of minutes, until warmed through. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. When the filling is well mixed, moist, and flavorful-but not wet-remove it from the heat and let it cool.
• Eggplant
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Combine all the ingredients except the eggplants in a small bowl.
• Cut the stem end from each eggplant, then cut it in half lengthwise. Take a look at the flesh, and if it is creamy white and not too seedy, don't worry about salting it. However, if it is a little darker, with numerous seeds, there's a good chance the juices will be slightly bitter, so you'll want to extract them. To do this, sprinkle the cut sides with about a teaspoon of salt each and place them cut side down on a plate or tray lined with a double thickness of paper towels. Place another plate or tray on top and weight that with a couple of pounds (cans of beans work well). Set aside for 10-15 minutes, then remove the weight and brush the salt off the surface, or rinse with running water and pat dry. Cut a shallow crosshatch pattern in the cut surface of the eggplant and brush generously with the flavored oil. Place the eggplant halves cut sides up on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once, until the eggplants are very soft when you squeeze the sides and the surface is golden brown. Cool completely.
• To Assemble
• With your fingers or a spoon, press the tender eggplant flesh to the sides, making a bed for the filling. Divide the filling among the halves. Sprinkle the bread crumb topping evenly over the filling and pat it lightly. Bake the filled eggplants for about 15 minutes, or until they're heated through and the crumbs are browned.

EGGPLANT STUFFED WITH RICOTTA AND HAM

Steps:

• Set the oven at 400 degrees. Have on hand a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Halve the eggplant lengthwise. Place them in the baking dish, cut sides up. Sprinkle generously with oil and salt. Bake for 20 minutes. Leave to cool.
• With a teaspoon, scoop out the eggplant flesh. Chop it coarsely; transfer to a bowl.
• In a skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. When it is hot, add the shallot, coriander, and thyme. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 4 minutes.
• Stir in the eggplant flesh. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes or until the mixture is pulpy and well flavored. Discard the bay leaf and thyme. Leave to cool slightly.
• Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
• Stir the ricotta, pecorino, cilantro, ham, egg, salt, and pepper into the eggplant mixture. Fill the eggplant shells with the stuffing.
• Return the shells to the baking dish. Sprinkle with olive oil and add the water to the dish. Bake the eggplant for 45 minutes or until the shells are tender when pierced with a skewer.

EGGPLANT STUFFED WITH SESAME-PEANUT MASALA

Steps:

• Using coffee grinder / food processor, separately pulse sesame seeds and peanuts into coarsely ground powders. Remove to a bowl. Add cilantro, sugar, salt, 2 tsp water, garlic, cayenne, and turmeric and mix well with fingers. The mixture should be lumpy--if it isn't, add a few more drops of water. Taste and adjust salt and sugar if needed. Filling should taste slightly sweet and a little salty.
• Leaving stem end intact, make 2 intersecting diagonal cuts on the bottom end of each eggplant. You're basically making an "x." do not cut all the way through. be sure to leave stems on. stuff each "x" with filling, packing it down well. This is easier said than done--it will feel awkward, but just push in as much filling as the eggplant will take, using fingers to gently pry the eggplant open.
• Heat oil in large skillet. Gently place each eggplant in the pan over medium heat. Turn eggplants occasionally till they are each browned on all sides. Don't worry too much if some of the filling spills out.
• Once all eggplants are browned, pour in remaining 1/4 c water, cover, and cook on low till tender, about 15 minute To check doneness, pierce stem end of each eggplant with a small, sharp knife--it should slide easily. The whole eggplant should feel soft to the touch.
• Instead of pan braising it, you may braise the eggplant in the oven if you prefer. Use ovenproof skillet. After browning the eggplant on the stovetop, pour in water, cover, and transfer the skillet to preheated 350 degrees F oven and roast until eggplant is tender, between 20 and 40 minutes, depending on size of eggplant.

VEGETABLE-STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise; remove pulp, leaving a 1/4-in. shell. Cube removed pulp; set shells aside. Cut corn off the cob., In a large nonstick skillet, saute eggplant pulp, corn, onion, tomato and garlic in oil until onion is tender. Stir in seasonings. Spoon mixture into reserved shells. Place in an ungreased 11x7-in. baking dish; pour water into dish. , Cover and bake 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. ,

YUMMY STUFFED EGGPLANT WITH MEAT AND RICE

Steps:

• Cut the stem ends from the eggplants.
• Halve the eggplants lengthwise.
• Peel if desired; if the eggplant is fresh, there is no need to peel it.
• Use a spoon to scoop out the centers, leaving boat-shaped shells.
• Keep the flesh you scooped out to add to the stuffing.
• Sprinkle the shells with salt.
• Put them in a colander upside down and leave to drain for 1/2 hour.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees C.
• Prepare the stuffing: Add the rice to 3 cups boiling salted water and boil for 10 minutes until not quite tender.
• Rinse under cold running water and drain well.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and cook over low heat until soft but not brown.
• Leave to cool.
• Mix with the beef, parsley, cumin, turmeric and almonds.
• Chop the flesh removed from the eggplant.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil, add the chopped eggplant and sprinkle with salt.
• Saute over medium-low heat, stirring often, until tender, about 10 minutes.
• Leave to cool and mix with the stuffing.
• Taste for seasoning; if you prefer not to taste a mixture that contains raw beef, broil or microwave a teaspoon of the mixture and taste it for seasoning.
• Rinse the eggplant shells, pat them dry and put them in a baking dish.
• Fill them with the stuffing.
• Mix the tomato paste with 1/4 cup water and spoon the mixture over the eggplant.
• Add enough water to the dish to cover the eggplant by one third.
• Add the garlic to the dish.
• Spoon 1 tablespoon oil over the eggplant.
• Cover and bake 15 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to 350 F and continue baking, covered, 15 more minutes.
• Uncover and bake, basting occasionally, 30 minutes or until the eggplant is very tender.

EGGPLANT WITH ALMONDS

Steps:

• Place the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Set the colander in the sink to drain off liquid, about 20 minutes. Pat the cubes with paper towel to remove excess salt.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion in the oil until translucent. Add the garlic; cook and stir another 2 minutes. Stir in the eggplant and almonds, cooking and stirring until the eggplant is tender, but not mushy, about 20 minutes.
• When the eggplant is cooked through, mix in the tomatoes, mint, white wine, sugar, salt, and chili powder. Cook mixture for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally; remove from heat and garnish with parsley.

EGGPLANT STUFFED WITH RICE AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Cut the eggplants in half. With a grapefruit spoon or a small knife, remove the flesh to within 1/2 inch of the skins.
• Sprinkle the eggplant shells with salt, and let sit for 30 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Chop the flesh, and steam for 20 minutes, until tender.
• In a large bowl, combine a third of the tomatoes, the steamed eggplant, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, all but 1 clove of the garlic, the rice, herbs and the juice of one of the lemons. Season with salt and pepper.
• Oil a large flameproof casserole or an earthenware casserole set over a flame tamer. Combine the remaining tomatoes, olive oil, allspice, cinnamon, lemon juice, sugar, tomato paste and remaining garlic in the casserole. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fill the eggplant shells with the rice mixture, and arrange in the casserole in a single layer. Add water if necessary to cover about a third of the eggplant. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, cover tightly and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 45 minutes to an hour until the eggplant and rice are tender. Remove from the heat.
• Using two spatulas (the eggplants are soft at this point), transfer the eggplants to a platter. Bring the sauce to a boil. If it is not already thick, reduce until thick and fragrant. Pour over the eggplants, and allow to cool to warm or room temperature. They're good chilled as well. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or cilantro if desired.

EGGPLANTS STUFFED WITH LAMB, RICE, AND CURRANTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in an ovenproof pot over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring often, until soft and lightly caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes. Add lamb, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook until lamb is cooked through and no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Add stock, rice, and currants. Bring to a simmer. Cover, and transfer to oven on lowest rack. Cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, slice eggplants in half lengthwise; brush each cut side with 1/4 teaspoon oil. Roast, cut sides up, on a rimmed baking sheet on top oven rack until centers are soft and tops are browned, about 40 minutes. Let cool.
• Gently scrape eggplant flesh into a large bowl, reserving skins. Stir in lamb-rice mixture, chopped herbs, and lemon zest. Divide stuffing among eggplant skins. Garnish with more herbs and lemon zest.