Spicy Rice Filled Eggplant Recipes

RICE STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 F (230 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roast the eggplant: make a slit into each eggplant.. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil into each eggplant, and rub the skin with any that drips out. Roast the eggplants on the prepared baking sheet at 450 F (230 C) until visibly softened, about 40 minutes. Remove and let cool. Lower the oven temperature to 350 F (175 C).
• Prepare the filling: while the eggplant cools, prepare the filling. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on medium heat, then add the salt and onion. Cook, stirring, until soft and beginning to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, 20 to 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, then add the tomatoes and saffron. Cook until very soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Scoop the guts out of the cooling eggplants, chop roughly, and add to the mixture. Cook for a couple more minutes, then add the rice and stir well.
• Fill and bake the eggplant: stuff the filling mixture into the eggplant shells. Drizzle generously with olive oil, and bake at 350 F (175 C) until heated through and very soft, 35 to 45 minutes.
• Make candied pickled lemon peels: cut the peel off the lemon with as little pith as possible. Bring the sugar, vinegar, water, salt, and cumin to a simmer, then add the lemon peels. Simmer until translucent, about 15 minutes. Remove and cut into thin slices, reserving the cooking liquid.
• Finish and serve: top the roasted eggplants with creme fraiche or sour cream (optional), candied pickled lemon peel slices, a drizzle of the syrup from the lemon peel, and a generous pinch of sumac. Enjoy!

TURKISH STUFFED EGGPLANT WITH SPICY LAMB AND RICE

Steps:

• Lamb and Rice Filling
• Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, then add the onion and pepper, stir, and cook for 3-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and crumble in the ground meat. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes, until the meat has lost its pink color and the mixture is starting to dry out and brown a little in the pan. Tilt the pan and spoon out any excess fat from the lamb. Sprinkle in the seasonings, stir, then add the tomatoes and puree, then the stock. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to dissolve the brown bits that have accumulated. Add the rice and herbs, and stir and cook a couple of minutes, until warmed through. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. When the filling is well mixed, moist, and flavorful-but not wet-remove it from the heat and let it cool.
• Eggplant
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Combine all the ingredients except the eggplants in a small bowl.
• Cut the stem end from each eggplant, then cut it in half lengthwise. Take a look at the flesh, and if it is creamy white and not too seedy, don't worry about salting it. However, if it is a little darker, with numerous seeds, there's a good chance the juices will be slightly bitter, so you'll want to extract them. To do this, sprinkle the cut sides with about a teaspoon of salt each and place them cut side down on a plate or tray lined with a double thickness of paper towels. Place another plate or tray on top and weight that with a couple of pounds (cans of beans work well). Set aside for 10-15 minutes, then remove the weight and brush the salt off the surface, or rinse with running water and pat dry. Cut a shallow crosshatch pattern in the cut surface of the eggplant and brush generously with the flavored oil. Place the eggplant halves cut sides up on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once, until the eggplants are very soft when you squeeze the sides and the surface is golden brown. Cool completely.
• To Assemble
• With your fingers or a spoon, press the tender eggplant flesh to the sides, making a bed for the filling. Divide the filling among the halves. Sprinkle the bread crumb topping evenly over the filling and pat it lightly. Bake the filled eggplants for about 15 minutes, or until they're heated through and the crumbs are browned.