Lebanese Style Stuffed Eggplant Food

STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Cut off the stalks of the eggplant. Using a knife, apple corer or veggie drill, carefully hallow out the eggplant and remove the flesh without puncturing the outside of the eggplant. You can reserve the flesh for another recipe.
• Heat the olive oil in a large deep pot on medium heat large. Add the onions and ground beef and season with 7 Spice, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook until the beef is browned, about 7-10 minutes. Add the uncooked rice, the remaining salt and stir to combine the ingredients. Transfer the rice mixture to a bowl.
• To make the tomato broth, heat the olive oil in the pot used to cook the beef over medium. Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and pressed garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the mixture becomes fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the water and bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, while stuffing the eggplant.
• Using a small spoon or your hands, fill the hallowed out inside of each eggplant with the rice stuffing. Be sure to leave about ¼ inch of empty space at the top since the rice will expand when cooked. Then stuff a tomato chunk on top to seal the eggplant and prevent the stuffing from coming out when cooked. Repeat with the remaining eggplant. If you have any leftover stuffing, you can cook it with water.
• Transfer the stuffed eggplant to the deep pot and bring mixture to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce and the rice to fully cook.
• Serve the stuffed eggplant warm with the sauce on top.

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.

LEBANESE STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Peel eggplant and then cut lengthwise into quarters. Brush with vegetable oil and place in a 32 x 22.5cm baking pan. Broil until light brown. Set aside.
• Saute the lamb, onions, salt, pepper, cinnamon and nuts until medium cooked (not brown) in a pan.
• Make a slit in each quarter of eggplant lengthwise.
• Stuff the meat mixture into each slit and over the eggplant. Pour tomatoes with their juice over the meat mixture. Cover with aluminium foil.
• Bake at 375°C for about 1 hour.
• Serve with rice.

LEBANESE STUFFED EGGPLANT (AND OTHER VEG | SHEIKH EL MAHSHI)

Steps:

• Wash all the vegetables well. Then prepare them according to what you're using.
• Eggplant: begin by peeling the eggplant. Then make a slit down one side of the eggplant (this creates a pocket to stuff) using a sharp knife. Then, either fry or bake the eggplant until tender.To fry the eggplant, add a few inches of oil to a large frying pan and heat until a toothpick inserted into the oil immediately begins to sizzle. Then, add the eggplants and cook for 8-12 minutes, flipping halfway. The time will vary based on the size of the eggplants. You want to do so until the color is golden but not too dark (they should be about half cooked). Then, transfer to paper towels to drain before continuing.To bake the eggplant, place them on a large baking tray, drizzle with oil, and then bake at 400ºF/200ºC for 15-20 minutes, or until the eggplants are tender but not well cooked yet (cook to about 80%).Once cooked, use a fork or spoon to gently fluff up the eggplants' inside to make them easier to stuff. You could optionally add the flesh directly into the stuffing mixture.
• Potatoes: peel and then core the potatoes, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the entire potato (so they don't collapse when cooked). You can then fry or bake them.To fry, simply drop the cored and peeled potato into a pan with hot oil and fry until lightly golden on all sides.To bake the potatoes, place them on a large baking tray, drizzle with oil, and then bake at 400ºF/200ºC for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are at about 80% cooked.
• Bell peppers and tomatoes: slice the tops off (but keep them as they'll go back on the veggies after they're stuffed) and remove the seeds from inside. Keep the tomato flesh to one side, as it'll be used later. There's no need to pre-cook the peppers or tomatoes.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC.
• Finely chop the onion and sauté it in a small skillet with a bit of oil (over medium heat) until translucent. This should only take a few minutes.For extra depth of flavor, you can cook the onions until they're lightly caramelized.
• Add the minced beef and continue to cook, stirring often and using your spoon to break up the ground beef until it's fully cooked and the liquid has cooked away.
• Add the spices, mix, and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, lightly fry the nuts (or seeds) with a drizzle of oil until fragrant and toasty.
• When both elements are cooked, combine them together and mix well.
• Spoon the minced beef stuffing into each of your veggies and then transfer them to a large, deep oven pan, packing them in tightly to make the most of all the space. Place the tops back on each vegetable.
• In a small bowl, combine the tomato juice, paste, leftover tomato flesh, and vegetable stock. Then pour this over the baking dish with the stuffed veggies.
• Transfer the baking dish (carefully) to the oven at bake at 350ºF/180ºC for about 40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Then remove from the oven and enjoy!
• Make ahead: you can prepare the minced beef stuffing and tomato sauce a day in advance and store them separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator. You could also pre-cook the eggplant/potato a day in advance and even pre-core the peppers/tomatoes. That way, they're quick and easy to assemble and bake when needed.Store: store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. These stuffed beggies taste even better on day two, so I highly recommend saving some for leftovers!Reheat: use either an oven (for large amounts) or microwave to gently reheat the stuffed veggies until piping hot!

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.