Karniyarik

• porciones: 4-6
• tiempo activo: 30 minutes
• tiempo total: 2 hours

Ingredientes

3 dark purple eggplants (size determines overall servings, medium recommended)

12 oz ground lamb

14 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 medium onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, diced

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp aleppo pepper (or other red pepper flakes)

1 cup water

1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley

Tomato and green pepper for garnish

Olive oil

High heat neutral oil

Instrucciones

Wash the eggplant skin, then cut them in half lengthways. Leave the stalk intalk. In each half, cut a deep slit lengthways in the middle that doesn’t go all the way through. Sprinkle salt over the flesh sides and leave them aside for 15 minutes to draw out the moisture.

Add some olive oil to a medium pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until soft. Then, add the ground lamb and cook until all the moisture is absorbed and the lamb is barely cooked through.

Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, and pepper flakes. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes.

Remove the filling from the heat and add the chopped parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. It’s important that you do this now, as you don’t season it again.

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Thoroughly dry the eggplants. Lightly oil a large baking tray or two to fill all the eggplant halves. Lightly oil the eggplants all around and lightly season them with salt. Place them on the baking trays and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until they are lightly browned all over.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the eggplant halves in a lightly oiled deep baking dish. Use a spoon to add the cooked filling into the middle gap and on top of the eggplant. Use all the filling! Garnish each piece with a slice of tomato and green pepper. Add the 1 cup of water into the bottom of the baking dish. Cover the entire thing with aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes.

Remove the foil and continue baking for 15 minutes, or until the eggplants are tender and the filling is nicely browned.

Enjoy with rice and a side of yogurt. Optionally garnish with fresh parsley or other herbs.

Notas

Turkish stuffed eggplants. An incredibly old dish that’s still quite popular in Turkey today. The eggplants are briefly cooked alone to bring out some of their flavor, then a spiced lamb, onion, and tomato mixture is added. Everything is baked together and it creates a really rich and flavorful dish. This is best served along some rice or another starchy side. Serves 4-6, depending on the size of the eggplants.