Ingredients
- 4 medium eggplants, halved lengthwise
- 6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 7 Tbsp pine nuts
- 2/3 oz flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 1 pinch black pepper, freshly ground
Servings: people
Units:
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Place the eggplant halves, skin side down, in a roasting pan large enough to accommodate them snugly. Brush the flesh with 4 tbsp of olive oil and season with black pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
- While eggplants are cooking, start making stuffing by heating remaining 2 tbsp olive oil in large frying pan. Mix together cumin, paprika, and ground cinnamon and add half of this spice mix to the pan, along with onions. Cook over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, stirring often, before adding lamb, pine nuts, parsley, tomato paste, and some black pepper. Continue to cook and stir for another 8 minutes until meat is cooked.
- Place remaining spice mix in a bowl and add water, lemon juice, tamarind, and cinnamon sticks; mix well.
- Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Pour spice mix into bottom of eggplant roasting pan. Spoon lamb mixture on top of each eggplant. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil, return to oven and roast for 1 1/2 hours, by which point the eggplants should be completely soft and the sauce thick; twice during cooking, remove foil and baste the eggplants with the sauce, adding some water if sauce dries out. Serve warm, not hot, or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Recipe adapted from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.
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