Lebanese Baked Eggplant 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.

AUBERGINE LEBANON (LEBANESE EGGPLANT)

Steps:

• Cook the eggplant in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes. Drain well.
• Saute the onion, garlic, and mushrooms in the olive oil. Add flour and stir until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat.
• Pour into a lightly greased casserole dish and bake at 375 F for 25 minutes. Serve hot.

LEBANESE EGGPLANT SALAD - (SALATIT EL BATINJAN)

Steps:

• Put the whole eggplant as is, (only cut and remove the stem from the top), on a baking sheet and bake it. You'll notice when it's done that the juice came out on the baking sheet and the skin is almost toasted and it becomes soft when you punch it with a knife.
• Let it cool for a bit then cut it in half and remove the skin; just cut it roughly into small/medium diced pieces and put it in the salad bowl, (it's ok if it has some juice still). Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix the salad and serve. This is good with pita bread on the side.

LEBANESE EGGPLANT STEW

Steps:

• Combine the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, and garlic in the slow cooker insert.
• Using an electric coffee mill or a mortar and pestle, grind the peppercorns, allspice berries, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes to a powder.
• Add the spices to the vegetables, cover, and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, or until the vegetables are tender.
• Stir in the olive oil and parsley, and add salt to taste just before serving.
• Suggested Beverage
• I think I'd choose a Merlot or Cabernet to accompany this dish.