Tuesday, October 5, 2010

One of my Favorite Dishes

Although I'm not a huge eggplant fan, one of my favorite dishes features eggplant. I never ate eggplant when I was a kid. It was never offered to me and I probably wouldn't have even tried it if it had been. The first time Adnan (who is a wonderful cook) made eggplant for me, I was skeptical. But from that first bite, I was in love with this dish. The flavors all work so well together and it's unbelievably delicious. Try it for yourself!

EGGPLANT WITH GROUND BEEF AND YOGURT SAUCE


INGREDIENTS:
1 Large Eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch round slices
1-2 pounds Lean Ground Beef
Onion, Garlic, Parsley, Salt, Pepper, and other spices and herbs to your liking
1 Cup Plain Yogurt
Mint, Dill, Italian Seasoning, Cilantro, or other spices and herbs to your liking

GROUND BEEF MIXTURE: We like to keep an already-made amount of this versatile mixture available. That's why you can use a larger amount of ground beef if you want, so you can save some to use in other recipes later. It freezes well and is quick to thaw. It's great to use in many Middle Eastern or Italian dishes, and when there's just a little bit left, we just throw it into scrambled eggs in the morning and it's delicious.

Start with a little olive oil warmed in a frying pan.
SAUTE in some chopped onion and some fresh garlic over medium heat.
ADD in your ground beef and cook thoroughly.
You can also ADD in your favorite spices and herbs, like Italian Seasoning, Fresh Cilantro, Parsley, a little Salt and Pepper, etc.
Set this mixture aside.

YOGURT SAUCE:

In a small bowl, MIX the Yogurt with your favorite Herb and Spices, like Mint, Dill, or Cilantro.
ADD a little Italian Seasoning if you like.
My personal favorites with this dish are Mint and Dill.
Set this mixture aside too.

EGGPLANT: My hubby used to fry the eggplant slices in a little Olive oil on top of the stove, but they tend to absorb a lot of grease that way. The method he has been using lately is to bake them in a 400 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes on each side.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
First, lightly DIP the eggplant slices in olive oil.
Place them in a baking pan.
BAKE for about 10-15 minutes, until they appear a nice golden brown color.
TURN the slices over and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
REMOVE when they are tender and a nice golden brown color.

Some people don't like the texture of the eggplant skin when it's fried or baked this way, so they peel the skin off first. The skin becomes a little tough and chewy, but I personally really like it when it's that texture.

SERVE 2-3 slices of eggplant per person.
TOP with the Ground Beef mixture, and then the Yogurt Sauce.
SERVES 3-4 People.

22 comments:

  1. Susie, this sounds terrific! My daughter is a vegetarian and I think it would be easy to adapt this for her while still making my hubby happy. Thanks for sharing!
    -Michaelle

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  2. Sounds and LOOKS great!!! But, it's hard to find eggplant in the market nowadays in Hawaii.

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  3. That looks really good. I definitely will be trying it!

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  4. Funny you post this today because my husband is making eggplant with ground beef for dinner tonight. I will suggest he do the eggplant in the oven as your husband has learned to do so we can cut back on the oil.

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  5. I love your choice of music and recipes.
    Is this one called Imam Baldi or that is a meal with onion? See mine pita's and other recipes at
    http://zexxyswife.blogspot.com/

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  6. That looks delish. I love eggplant but don't think to cook with it too often. Will have to keep this in mind.

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  7. Something I have heard of but never tried - it looks really delicious and easy to make!

    Umm Ibrahim

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  8. I just happened to have 2 eggplants from our garden. This is one recipe I must try. Thanks for sharing...it looks delicious.

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  9. this sounds wonderful! I will have to try this very soon. It's easy too, which helps non-cooks like me
    :-)

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  10. Susie, this sounds terrific! I will surely try this ...www.chackoskitchen.blogspot.com

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  11. Looks a bit like musaaka, but a little different.

    for eggplant (and many other things) we use the george forman lean mean grilling machine :) it takes less time than if you would put it in the oven.

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  12. Ohhhh I want to try this! Yummyyy

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  13. Looks good. I will try. I didn't eat eggplant until i was an adult. It's got the words egg and plant in it. Eeeew!! Now I love eggplant. Still refuse to try head cheese.

    Linda

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  14. Susie you've got a winner here. That's the kind of dish I could have every day (well, almost !)

    LOVE IT!

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  15. Susie I don't think you could find fresh eggplant at the PD store ...

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  16. Hey Aunt Susie - been so busy I missed this! When I lived in Vienna one of my favorite dishes was at a Middle Eastern restaurant 'Levante' and I used to get the 'Mellanzani Rollen' (I'm sure I misspelled that) - meaning 'Eggplant Rolls'. They were sliced eggplant, rolled and stuffed with feta inside, dipped/battered in breading, fried, then topped with tzatziki. FANTASTIC. Close to this dish you post, but vegetarian. I can replicate the dish, but I just dip (flour, then egg, then breading) and fry the eggplant flat (as in your pic), top with feta and broil momentarily in the oven, top with tzatziki. Would you PLEASE post or send me the squash/onion soup in tomato sauce...the one I have been asking for from Adnan for years!!! :) I think your readers may very much like the hummous and tzatziki recipes you gave me years ago. People geek out when I make it because it is the best they EVER tasted, and so easy. Far better than any 'gourmet' stuff you buy here in the US. When I make either, I make at least a gallon of each because everybody wants to take some - and it costs a fortune here (US) pre-made, and not near as good. PS - the tzatziki tastes great on so many meat dishes (fish, chicken, lamb, beef, etc)

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  17. That looks wonderful! I can't wait to make it. My husband is Turkish and we eat eggplant every week almost. It will be nice to have a new way to fix it.

    Terri

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  18. Susie...I made this with a couple of additions and it was FANTASTIC! Will do it again and again. Thanks for sharing.

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  19. Oh my God.. It must be so yummy. I am a big fan of eggplants..

    My mouth goes watery as i saw your picture, so yummy ! i will try it out soon..

    Thanks for sharing

    Have you tried Musaka'ah?

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  20. This sounds really good. Easy, different, and most importantly ALL THE INGREDIENTS ARE AVAILABLE IN EGYPT! =) I keep wanting to give my young son eggplant but can't think of a way to make it where it has taste (although Massaka is great, if you haven't had it). I think I will try this soon. Thanks for the recipe!

    New to the blog but will definitely stay tuned in.

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  21. Hi, Susie:
    Do you need to 'sweat' the eggplant with some salt for 20min before baking it? (I've done this in the past when making vegetable bruschetta). Please let me know...I'm dieing to make this!

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  22. Hi Philbee - No, we don't ever do that with the eggplant, but if that's the way you have done it before, I don't see that it would hurt. I'm sure it will turn out great either way!

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