Lamb And Eggplant Stack Food

EGGPLANT AND LAMB AL FORNO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Salt eggplant well, arrange in colanders, and place weighted bowls on top. Let drain for 30 minutes. Rinse and dry.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon black pepper; cook until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Add oregano, cinnamon, cumin, and cayenne; cook 2 minutes more. Add lamb, and cook until it browns, about 5 minutes. Drain fat from pan. Break up tomatoes, and add to pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until sauce starts to thicken, about 8 minutes.
• Place 4 eggplant slices in an 8-inch square baking pan, and top with a third of the sauce. Repeat twice, making 4 3-layer stacks. Combine 1 teaspoon parsley and breadcrumbs; sprinkle over the top.
• Cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour. Remove foil, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more. Sprinkle with remaining parsley; serve hot.

STUFFED EGGPLANT WITH LAMB

Steps:

• Peel the eggplants lengthwise in 1/2-inch strips "zebra-style," leaving a 1/2-inch strip of skin between each peel. Trim off long stems so eggplant will fit in pan. Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan. In batches, fry eggplant until golden all over and beginning to soften, turning frequently. Transfer eggplant to a baking dish, placing them side by side, and cut a deep slit lengthwise in each eggplant. Set aside.
• Heat the butter in the skillet, add the onions and saute until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the lamb and cook for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bell peppers and salt, and saute until all the juices are absorbed, about 5 more minutes. Stir in the parsley, and lemon juice, adjust seasonings and remove from heat.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Stuff the eggplants tightly with the ground lamb mixture, enlarging the opening with your hand. Add a little water to the baking dish, cover, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until eggplants are very tender.

STEVE'S EGGPLANT STACK

Steps:

• Salt the eggplant on each side and let it drain in a colander for about 30 minutes to get the bitterness out. Place something heavy, like a frying pan, on top to get the moisture out.
• In a medium bowl, place the flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. In a second medium bowl, add the eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, half of the parsley and some salt and pepper, and whisk together. In a third medium bowl, add the breadcrumbs and the remaining parsley and toss together. Coat the eggplant slices in the flour, then in the egg mixture and then in the breadcrumbs.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet and fry the eggplant slices until they're crisp and golden brown. Don't crowd the pan. Let them drain on a paper towel to get excess oil off.
• Top 1 slice of eggplant with 1 slice of tomato, and then season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add 3 basil leaves, top with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a slice of mozzarella. Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients.
• In a large bowl, toss the arugula with some salt, pepper and extra-virgin olive oil. Add to the top of the stacks and add more Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. Season with salt and pepper.

LAMB AND EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) STACK

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a pan and cook the onion until soft. Remove from pan.
• Heat the remaining oil and cook meat and spices until well browned-breaking the lumps up with a wooden spoon. This will take about 10 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the herbs, pine nuts, currants, lemon juice and onion, keep warm.
• Heat a chargrill pan until hot. Slice each eggplant lengthways into thin slices-you will need 12 slices in total.
• Brush the slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Chargrill on both sides.
• Place a slice of eggplant on each plate and top with some of the lamb mixture, then a second eggplant slice. Repeat teo make a second layer.
• Crumble cheese over the stack and serve with lemon wedges and a sprinkle of parsley and or mint.

MAMA'S OH-SO-SAVORY LAMB AND EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a colander set in a bowl or the sink; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Let eggplant stand for at least 1 hour. Rinse off the bitter liquid and excess salt and drain well.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and celery; cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent and celery is fragrant, about 5 minutes.
• While vegetables are cooking, combine ground cumin, oregano, rosemary, paprika, mint, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl or mortar and pestle and mix well; this is the lamb seasoning (see Cook's Note). Set seasoning aside.
• Stir eggplant cubes and garlic into the vegetables in the skillet, mixing well, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and sprinkle with half of the lamb seasoning mixture. Reserve remaining seasoning. Stir gently and cook for 5 minutes more.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
• Pour chicken broth and half the can of tomato sauce into the skillet and simmer for 10 minutes; add a little water if the sauce starts to get dry. Transfer the sauce to the prepared casserole dish.
• Return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat and heat the reserved tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Place ground lamb into skillet and sprinkle with remaining seasoning mixture. Brown lamb in the hot oil, stirring frequently, until the meat is evenly browned; it should look like imperfect meatballs.
• Gently transfer the lamb to the casserole dish, pushing it down into the vegetable mixture so that it is at least partially submerged. Stir fresh lemon juice into the remaining tomato sauce and pour the sauce over the casserole.
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending upon how tender you like your vegetables.

SPICED LAMB-STUFFED EGGPLANTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, including the stems. Using a sharp paring knife, scoop out some of the flesh, leaving a shell that is 1/3 inch thick and reserving the scooped-out eggplant. Place the eggplant shells snugly in a single layer in a large (10-by-14-inch) rectangular baking dish. Brush the eggplant all over with 1/4 cup olive oil (use it all!) and sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour 1/4 cup water in the baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes, until the shells are tender when pierced with a small knife. Remove from the oven, discard the foil, and leave the oven on.
• Meanwhile, for the lamb filling, in a large (12-inch) skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, tossing occasionally, until tender. Cut the reserved scooped-out eggplant into 1/2-inch dice (you should have about 2 cups). Add the eggplant to the onion and cook for 5 minutes, adding more oil if it seems dry. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the ground lamb and cook, mashing lightly with a fork, for 5 to 7 minutes, until no longer pink. Add the oregano and cinnamon and cook for one minute. Add the wine, tomatoes, marinara, parsley, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the liquid evaporates. Spoon the filling into the eggplant halves in the baking dish. (You may have a little extra filling.)
• In a medium bowl, mash the ricotta, goat cheese, egg yolks, mint, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper with a fork. With a spoon, place large dollops of the ricotta mixture on the lamb filling and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling is hot and the topping is lightly browned. Serve warm, sprinkled with extra mint.

STIR-FRIED LAMB WITH EGGPLANT AND CHILES

Steps:

• Cut the lamb into short strips, and the eggplant into 1/2-inch cubes.
• Stir-fry lamb in neutral oil until browned and set aside. Add the eggplant, salt and more oil if needed to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until nearly tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add minced garlic, ginger and red chile flakes, and cook for another minute.
• Return lamb to the pan, add soy sauce and water, and cook until heated through. Garnish with cilantro.

MAUREEN ABOOD'S EGGPLANT WITH LAMB, TOMATO AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Heat broiler and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.
• Brush both sides of eggplant slices with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Arrange slices on prepared baking sheet and broil in batches until they are deep mahogany brown, turning once halfway through, 5 to 7 minutes per side.
• Adjust the oven to 375 degrees with rack positioned in the center.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, but not browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground lamb or beef, stirring frequently and breaking up meat into very small pieces with the side of a metal spoon. Season with remaining teaspoon salt, cinnamon and pepper. Sauté until meat is just cooked through. Taste and add more salt or pepper, or both, as needed.
• In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add pine nuts and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir nuts to coat them with butter and continue stirring constantly until nuts are golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Keep a close watch over the nuts; they can burn quickly once they begin to brown. Transfer nuts to a bowl while still warm and salt them lightly.
• Coat a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish. Lay 1/3 of the eggplant slices in a single layer over the sauce, covering as much surface area of the bottom of the dish as possible. Spoon half the meat evenly over eggplant. Pour 1/3 of the remaining tomato sauce evenly over meat. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the pine nuts. Layer again with eggplant, meat, tomato sauce and pine nuts. Finish with a layer of eggplant and cover with more tomato sauce, sprinkling top with pine nuts.
• Pour 1 cup warm water around the perimeter of the baking dish. (Sauce will thicken as it bakes.) Cover pan with foil and bake for 90 minutes. Remove foil and top eggplant evenly with mozzarella. Bake for 15 minutes longer, uncovered, or until the cheese is bubbling and golden. Serve eggplant warm, over rice.