It's #SundaySupper time again. And this round we are stuffing, rolling, and wrapping. What a fun theme! I considered stuffing grape leaves, tomatoes, peppers, and even apples. But in the end, I wanted to make something with eggplants.
A couple of years ago, I hosted an eggplant dinner for two friends' birthday celebration; I called it 'Ode to an Aubergine.'
Little back story: one of our friends claimed to not like eggplant. I took the challenge to come up with an entire dinner menu made with eggplant...from Eggplant Boats to Creamy Eggplant Soup and Braised Lamb Over Eggplant Puree to dessert. Yes! Even dessert. I made an Italian dessert - Melanzane al Cioccolato - with eggplant and chocolate. And, of course, I ordered eggplant hats for everyone.
The dinner was a wild success and the eggplant-averse friend declared, to my delight, Okay, I like eggplant now!
So, for this edition of #SundaySupper - Stuff, Roll, Wrap - I decided to do my own version of Bademjan shekam-por, Persian stuffed eggplants. Traditionally, it's fried eggplant that's stuffed with ground beef simmered in a tomato sauce and topped with slivered almonds. I opted to bake my eggplant and topped it with feta cheese instead of almonds. I also added lots of fresh herbs. So tasty!
Bademjan Shekam-por
Persian Stuffed Eggplant
Ingredients serves 4
- 2 Chinese eggplants*
- olive oil
- 1 pound grass-fed ground beef
- 1 green garlic, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 C green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
- 1/2 C tomato sauce
- 1/2 t ground turmeric
- 1/4 t ground cumin
- 1/4 t ground coriander
- 1 t ground paprika
- freshly ground salt
- freshly ground pepper
- juice of one Meyer lemon
- 1 T fresh chopped dill
- 1 T fresh chopped basil
- 1 T fresh chopped mint
- 1/2 C feta, cut into cubes
*the only eggplants I could find were long - over a foot long! If you can find shorter ones, you might need 4.
Procedure
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse and dry your eggplants. Lay them on top of foil and drizzle them with olive oil. Fold them into the foil so that they are completely enclosed. Place the foil packets on a baking sheet. Roast for 50-60 minutes.
In the meantime, make your meat filling. Heat a splash of olive oil in a large, flat-bottom pan. Saute the green garlic and leeks in the oil until they are softened and begging to turn translucent. Add in the ground beef and brown until cooked through. Stir in the green beans and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Pour in the tomato sauce and add in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, and paprika. Cook until the sauce thickens. Squeeze in the lemon juice and fold in the fresh herbs.
Open the eggplant packets, leaving them on the foil, and slice them lengthwise. Mash the eggplant slightly, pressing the meat away from the skin slightly. Spoon the meat filling into the eggplant. Top them with the feta cheese and return them to the oven. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Serve stuffed eggplants with rice or with warm flatbread and plain yogurt.
Here's what the rest of the #SundaySupper brought to the party...
HTML: Starters and Snacks
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.
Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.
HTML: Starters and Snacks
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- Lemon Poppyseed Swirl Cookies by What Smells So Good
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Egg Rolls by Melanie Makes
- Raspberry and Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast by La Bella Vita Cucina
- Chocolate Chip Banana Sweet Rolls by Big Bear's Wife
- Orange Chocolate Swiss Roll by Noshing With The Nolands
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookies by Alida's Kitchen
- Flourless Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies by Pies and Plots
- Sopapilla Cheesecake Puffs by The Weekend Gourmet
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.
Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.
Too much fun! I want to come to one of your Eggplant Parties. Love this recipe and the pictures.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha I love eggplant so I would have LOVED to be at that dinner... this recipe looks so yummy!!
ReplyDeleteThis stuffed eggplant sounds really good Camilla. And love the idea of an eggplant party.
ReplyDeleteThis is so creative! I love it! What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteInternational cuisine is my favorite. I love to learn about the culinary adventures from all over the world. This one made the top of my list.
ReplyDeleteMy family would LOVE this! Great recipe!
ReplyDeleteYour stuffed eggplant sounds amazing! I think my hubby needs an eggplant intervention as well!
ReplyDeleteThe eggplant sounds delicious, but those caps are adorable and steal the show!
ReplyDeleteFabulous ingredients, this sounds out of this world good!!
ReplyDeleteOh what a fun party! I wish I could have been there because I'm not much of a fan of eggplant. I'm sure this and your other recipes may just convert me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea for a party! I love it. I just started liking eggplant in the last few years and love this stuffed eggplant!!
ReplyDeleteI love the eggplant party idea! I have just gotten my family on board with eggplant so I am so glad you posted this recipe!
ReplyDeleteThat eggplant hat photo is adorable!
ReplyDeleteI love eggplant, you've really got some great flavor in this recipe!
ReplyDeleteCamilla, you're amazing! I LOVE that you threw a party and created a menu entirely around eggplant, just to get your friend to realize the error of her ways. Those hats are a total hoot! Now I have to make an admission: I don't like eggplant either. Feel free to fly to Vancouver and make that menu for me ;) You can make these stuffed eggplants too because although I may not eat the vessel, the stuffing sounds absolutely delicious!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the challenge of cooking a meal with an ingredient someone says they don't like. There have been so many times I have been able to show people that they do like it. I absolutely love aubergines so your party sounds amazing to me, as does this dish. Can't wait to try it.
ReplyDeleteLove eggplant, this looks perfect
ReplyDeleteI'd like one of those eggplant hats!
ReplyDeleteI love the spices and flavors in Persian cuisine! These look great!
These sound amazing and I love what you did to convince your friend that eggplant is delicious!
ReplyDeleteLove eggplant! This looks delicious! :)
ReplyDelete