Serves 4

  • 2 large eggplants, halved lengthwise
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Filling

  • 1 pound ground lamb
  • 1½ onions, ½ grated and 1 finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, 2 grated and 2 finely minced
  • ¼ cup mixed chopped fresh cilantro and parsley
  • 2 teaspoons plus a pinch of kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon Merguez Spice Blend (see below)
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • ½ cup crushed tomatoes
  • ¼ cup pine nuts
  • 1 cup Tomato Sauce (see below) or other good tomato sauce

 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Score the cut sides of the eggplant and salt well. Arrange cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or until tender. Cool slightly, then scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash. Set the skins aside.

MAKE THE FILLING: Mix together the lamb, grated onion and garlic, the fresh herbs, 2 teaspoons of the salt, and the spice blend in a bowl and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers and a pinch of salt. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, then add the chopped onion and minced garlic and cook until translucent, about 8 more minutes. Add the meat mixture and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring to break up the meat. Add the tomato paste and crushed tomatoes. Mix well. Cook until the meat is no longer pink and the tomatoes have cooked down a bit, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the mashed eggplant flesh.

Spoon the filling into the eggplant skins and top with the pine nuts. Pour the tomato sauce into a baking dish. Place the stuffed eggplant on top. Bake until heated through and the pine nuts are toasted, about 10 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the eggplant and serve.

 

Merguez Spice Blend

Makes about 1 cup

Combine ¼ cup crushed Aleppo pepper, 2 tablespoons fennel seed, 2 tablespoons ground cumin, and 1 tablespoon each ground cardamom, caraway seeds, and coriander seeds in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to a powder. Store in a covered jar.

 

Tomato Sauce

Makes about 1½ cups

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

 

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and salt and cook until the onion is translucent, then add the tomatoes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, for 10 to 15 minutes. If you like your sauce extra smooth, let it cool slightly, then puree in a blender or food processor.

 

SPICY TOMATO SAUCE: Add 1 tablespoon crushed Aleppo pepper to the onion in the pan. Toast for a minute, then add the tomatoes and cook as directed.

 

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STUFFED EGGPLANT is excerpted from ISRAELI SOUL © 2018 by Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook. Photography © 2018 by Michael Persico. Reproduced by permission of Rux Martin Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.