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Sheikh el Mahshi

Eggplants stuffed with ground meat baked in a tomato sauce

Course Main Course
Cuisine Lebanese
Keyword Authentic, Dinner Party
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 4 small eggplants
  • 200 g ground lamb beef 50:50 ratio
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 1 teaspoon 7 spice
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dried coriander
  • ½ teaspoon salt approx
  • ¼ cup pine nuts
  • 4 tomatoes chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tomato concentrate
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • Vegetable oil for deep frying

Instructions

To make the ground meat

  1. In a wide pan, sauté the onion in some cooking olive oil until golden

  2. Add the ground lamb and beef with the spices (turmeric, paprika, 7 spice and dried coriander) and salt. Sauté for 10-15 minutes until the ground meat is well done

  3. Toast the pine nuts in a small non stick pan and add half to the ground meat

To make the tomato sauce

  1. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato concentrate and water to a pot and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes then blitz with a hand blender until smooth and add salt to taste.

To prepare the Sheikh el Mahshi

  1. Wash the eggplants and slit with a sharp knife on one side ¾ of the way through. Do not cut all the way through. Dab dry with a kitchen towel

  2. Heat up vegetable oil in a deep pan for frying. Add the eggplants and fry for 10-15 minutes, turning half way through until they start to change colour and are half done. Transfer to plate lined with kitchen towels to drain

  3. Line the eggplants in a baking pan. Using a fork, scrape around the insides of the eggplant so they pull apart and loosen. Season with a good sprinkling of salt

  4. Add half the tomato sauce to the meat, stir well and stuff the eggplants generously, mixing well with the eggplant mixture inside

  5. Heat the oven to 180C (350 F)

  6. Ladel on the rest of the tomato sauce so the eggplants are ¾ submerged in sauce. Bake in the oven for half an hour until the eggplants are well done
  7. Sprinkle on the rest of the toasted pine nuts just before serving with rice.