Stuffed Eggplant

Today’s dinner menu: Pilaf, stuffed eggplant and cucumber-yogurt salad!

Ingredients:

• 6 eggplants
• olive oil
• 2 medium onion (chopped)
• 5 green pepper (chopped)
• 4 medium tomatoes (peeled and diced)
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• half a bunch parsley (only leaves; minced)
• salt and black pepper
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

In addition

• 1 tomato (sliced)
• 6 green pepper
• 6 cloves of garlic

Instructions:

1. Peel the skin of the eggplant in 1/2 inch thick stripes. Place eggplants in a bowl of salted cold water and let them sit for 30 min.
2. Rinse eggplant under cold, running water, and pat dry them. Rub the eggplats lightly with olive oil and place them on an oven tray. Preheat the oven to  350°F and cook the eggplants for about 30 minutes until they are tender. Alternatively, fry the eggplants with olive oil.
3. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and saute onions, green peppers, and ground beef in this order. Add diced tomato and continue cooking on medium heat until most of the juice is absorsed. Add salt and black pepper, adjust seasonings. Off heat, stir in parsley.
4. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds (if necessary) without breaking the skin. Place one garlic inside each eggplant and fill the eggplants with the ground beef mixture and place a few tomato rings and a green pepper on each one. Place them on a roasting pan.
5. Pour 1-1/4 cups warm water – tomato paste mixture into the roasting pan. Cook in the oven until the green peppers are roasted and the eggplants are cooked. Bon appetit.

Tags: karniyarik, eggplant