One Pot Ground Lamb Eggplant Recipes

MAMA'S OH-SO-SAVORY LAMB AND EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a colander set in a bowl or the sink; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Let eggplant stand for at least 1 hour. Rinse off the bitter liquid and excess salt and drain well.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and celery; cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent and celery is fragrant, about 5 minutes.
• While vegetables are cooking, combine ground cumin, oregano, rosemary, paprika, mint, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl or mortar and pestle and mix well; this is the lamb seasoning (see Cook's Note). Set seasoning aside.
• Stir eggplant cubes and garlic into the vegetables in the skillet, mixing well, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and sprinkle with half of the lamb seasoning mixture. Reserve remaining seasoning. Stir gently and cook for 5 minutes more.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
• Pour chicken broth and half the can of tomato sauce into the skillet and simmer for 10 minutes; add a little water if the sauce starts to get dry. Transfer the sauce to the prepared casserole dish.
• Return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat and heat the reserved tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Place ground lamb into skillet and sprinkle with remaining seasoning mixture. Brown lamb in the hot oil, stirring frequently, until the meat is evenly browned; it should look like imperfect meatballs.
• Gently transfer the lamb to the casserole dish, pushing it down into the vegetable mixture so that it is at least partially submerged. Stir fresh lemon juice into the remaining tomato sauce and pour the sauce over the casserole.
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending upon how tender you like your vegetables.

OVEN BAKED LAMB WITH EGGPLANT, PEPPERS & SPICES

Steps:

• Place oil in a pan with all of the spices and tomato paste, and heat for 2-3 minutes until an aroma starts to develop.
• Place the meat in a casserole or oven-proof dish and pour over the hot spice mixture. Work through the meat.
• Mix in all the other ingredients aside from the fresh herbs and lemon zest.
• Cover tightly and bake for 2 hours at 150°C until lamb is meltingly tender.
• Just before serving mix through lemon zest and chopped herbs. Adjust seasonings to taste.
• Recipe easily doubles (trebles!) - cook in a covered roasting dish.
• Substitute beef for the lamb and add other vegetables such as zucchini, mixed peppers or okra.
• The Vegetarian Variation: Use a cup or two of cooked chickpeas instead of the meat along with your choice of vegies (but think mediterranean).

TIMBALE OF EGGPLANT AND GROUND LAMB

Steps:

• Trim the ends from the eggplant, and peel it--here's the tricky part--in five, long peels, using a large knife--the easiest way is to stand the eggplant on end, mark the other end in fifths and saw off the skin, allowing some pulp to be attached.
• Cube the remaining eggplant and grill or roast it lightly (this instead of saute-ing which uses much more oil).
• In a large skillet, heat the oil and then saute the eggplant peels, skin side UP, by covering the pan and cooking over moderate heat about five minutes, or until the pulp is lightly browned.
• Remove the slices and allow them to cool slightly.
• Arrange them in a one and a half quart round baking dish star fashion, with the narrow end in the center of the bowl and the wide end hanging over the top edge; the five pieces of peel should be equidistant from each other and should overlap in the bottom.
• Set aside.
• In the warm skillet, saute the onion and garlic until lightly browned, then add the grilled or roasted eggplant and combine with the 3 tablespoons of tomato paste and the allspice and cinnamon. Season to taste with salt and pepper, mix well, remove from heat and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix the ground lamb with the paprika and tomato paste and, if you like some salt and pepper.
• Wet your hands, and, little by little, press the lamb onto the bowl, on top of the peels and without disturbing the pattern formed by the peels; the inside of the bowl should be completely covered with the lamb mixture, though it need not come all the way to the rim of the bowl.
• Spoon the reserved eggplant/onion mixture into the meat -lined bowl and fold the ends of the eggplant peel over the top.
• Cover the bowl closely with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let the bowl rest for 15 minutes before removing the foil.
• Invert carefully onto a platter and serve, surrounded by rice or orzo and accompanied by a tomato sauce.