This is so scrumptious! The North African spice mix, known as Chermoula, sets this aubergine dish apart from the rest. The spices are pantry staples, so it’s likely you’ll have them all. If you don’t have all the spices, don’t worry, there is enough in the blend that you won’t miss one or two. We are going to make some kitchen magic with this one. It can be a real hassle to “stuff” an eggplant, lots of scooping and mess. So this one looks “stuffed” but it’s actually “topped”, much easier to work with. You will use salt to help remove the moisture from the eggplants, this is called “Sweating”, see explanation below. You can top this dish with pine nuts, cilantro or parsley and yogurt. This serves two people, perfect for date night at home. Or double the recipe and make for friends.
Stuffed Eggplant, Moroccan Style
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants (aubergines)approximately 8 oz each, 7 inches long, it doesn’t have to be exact.
- ¾ tsp cooking or kosher salt for sweating the eggplants
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Chermoula spice mix
- ½ tsp of each Garlic powder,ginger, turmeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 ½ tsp of each coriander and paprika
- ¾ tsp all spice
- ¼ tsp of each cinnamon and cayenne
Spiced Meat Topping
- 8 oz organic ground lamb or beef
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ onion finely chopped
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- ¼ cup filtered water
Toppings
- Toasted Pine nuts
- Cilantro or parsley
- Plain yogurt-can be vegan coconut or dairy. Add ½ garlic clove minced, twist of lemon, salt and pepper, and let sit for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to integrate.
Instructions
- Sweating the eggplant helps to remove excess water. It’s not essential, but it’s recommended. If you don’t want to deal with this part, then make small slits in the skin of the eggplant to allow the excess water to escape while it roasts.
- Sweating Instructions
- Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, but keep the stem intact, this will help hold it together when it’s soft after roasting.
- Using a small sharp paring knife, cut diamonds into the flesh of the eggplant, but don’t cut through the bottom skin. Make about 2.5cm/1” diamonds.
- Sprinkle salt on the surface and rub it in. Try to get a little into the slits, but if you can’t, it will make its way in a bit.
- Place the eggplant upside down in a colander to allow the water to drip out for about 30 minutes.
- To remove any remaining excess water, squeeze like a sponge and pat the surface dry. Sweating is complete
Filling
- Mix the Chermoula spice mix ingredients in a bowl. Then remove 3 teaspoons for the meat and set it aside. To make a paste, add olive oil and lemon juice to the remaining spice mix and combine into a paste.
- Place the scored eggplant on a baking tray and slather the spice mix paste onto the surface. Roast for 45 minutes or until softened.
- In a non-stick skillet, heat cooking oil (olive or avocado) over medium high heat. Cook the onion and garlic for one minute. Add the meat and turn up to high, breaking up the meat into smaller pieces. When it is mostly cooked, no more red showing, then add the reserved spices and cook another minute. Next add tomato paste and cook for one more minute. Finally stir in the water and cook a final minute until it’s juicy but not watery.
- Finally, top the eggplant with the spiced meat. Sprinkle the cilantro on top, add a dollop of yogurt and sprinkle the toasted pine nuts on top. You can finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Recipe Notes
