Eggplant is delicious and, on top of that, excellent for a healthy diet. They are high-fiber and low-calorie fruits known to reduce the risk of heart disease and help control sugar levels in the blood.
This is a light version of the traditional Turkish dish: the Karniyarik. The eggplant is usually split in the middle, fried, and stuffed with minced meat. This recipe is somewhat simplified, and it’s leaner as I don’t fry the eggplant but instead cook it in the oven. It’s better to use globe eggplants; they will make larger slices that are easier to roll and are easily found in any supermarket.
Serving: 6 people
Preparation time: 45 min
Cooking time: 1 h 30 min
Ingredients:
4 eggplants
½ cup – olive oil for the eggplants
2lb / 1 kg minced mix beef/lamb, beef/pork, or beef
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup / 30 g Italian parsley
26 oz / 750 g crushed tomatoes
26 ox / 750 g of water
2 tsp salt
Pepper
1- Preheat the oven to 350 F or 180 C.
2- Cut the stem of the eggplants and cut them lengthwise to make 1cm (1/3 inch) slices. Spread them on an aluminum foil or baking paper sheet. Brush the eggplants on both sides with olive oil and bake them in the oven for 30 min or until the flesh is soft.
3- Cook the meat in a skillet without fat. Add 1 tsp salt and pepper, and when the color turns brown, add the olive oil and continue to cook.
4- Add the chopped parsley to the meat at the end and stir.
5- Remove the eggplants from the oven and let them cool down for about 10 min or until they are cold enough to grab them with your hands.
6- Increase the oven temperature to 400ºF or 200ºC.
7- Place a slice of eggplant on a plate, place a spoon of meat in the middle of the eggplant, and roll the eggplant, keeping the minced meat inside.
8- Put the roll in an oven dish and repeat the movement until all the eggplants are rolled. Spread the extra meat all over the dish on the rolls. This is the step where you can freeze the dish or keep it in the refrigerator for a day or two.
9- Pour the crushed tomatoes, water on the eggplants. Sprinkle with salt.
10- Close with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for an hour.
11- Remove the dish from the oven, remove the aluminum foil, and let rest for 10 min.
Serve with rice; it’s delicious!
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