Our local market had some really nice-looking eggplants the other day, so I decided to pick up a couple and whip something up. When coming up with an idea for the dish, I decided to refer to some of the eggplant experts: the countries that live along the Mediterranean coast. Italy seemed too easy, so I went with Turkey instead, who have several classic eggplant dishes. Karniyarik is a stuffed eggplant dish from Turkey, similar to another popular Turkish dish, Imam Bayildi, which is similar but made without ground meat.
Eggplants got their name from their egg-like shape, although they are referred to as aubergines nearly everywhere outside of the United States. Eggplants were probably first cultivated in India about 2,000 years ago, before making their way to the Middle East and Europe. It was one of the first foods brought to the Americas by Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the 16th century.
Serves four
2 large eggplants, cut in half lengthwise, or 4 medium-sized eggplants
2 tsp sea salt
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 medium tomatoes, one sliced into 4 slices, the rest coarsely chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper, more to taste
1 small handful fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp coconut oil or ghee
4 long green chiles (serrano or jalapeño okay, depending on heat preference), or 1/2 of a green bell pepper cut into 4 long strips
My local market’s eggplants were monsters, so I decided to get two big eggplants instead of four medium-sized eggplants. Either will work fine. Slice your eggplants in half lengthwise (if you’re using 4 medium-sized eggplants for this recipe, you’ll want to pare the eggplant in stripes lengthwise instead of slicing them in half). Fill a large bowl with water, stir in 2 tsp of salt, then add the sliced eggplants. Weigh the eggplants down with a plate to keep them submerged; soak for 30 minutes while you prep the filling. This step helps remove the bitterness from the eggplants.
Heat a skillet on medium heat for a minute, then add the ground beef. Sauté until most of the pink is gone, stirring frequently to break up chunks, about 4 minutes. Add the onions and continue to sauté until the onions start to soften, about 4 more minutes.
Add the coarsely chopped tomatoes (be sure to reserve four tomato slices for later), tomato paste, garlic, and salt and pepper; simmer until the tomatoes are softened, another 5 minutes.
Stir in the chopped parsley, season to with more salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.
Remove the eggplants from the water, rinse, and pat dry. Season with a little salt and pepper.
In a large skillet (I just washed the one I had used to make the filling), warm 2 tbsp ghee or coconut oil on med/high heat for a minute, the place the eggplant cut-side-down. Cook in batches until browned, about 4 minutes, then set on paper towels to drain. You only need to brown the cut side of the eggplant. If you’re using medium-sized eggplants, you’ll want to brown them on the pared stripes, a couple minutes per side, until the whole eggplant is browned.
Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Scoop out the seed part of each eggplant and set aside. You don’t need to spoon out too much of the eggplant, just enough to make a divot to put the filling into. If you’re using medium-sized eggplants, simply make a deep slice lengthwise and push apart each slice to create an opening for the filling.
Spoon in the filling then lay down half of a chili pepper and a tomato slice on each eggplant. It’s okay if you have leftover filling – you can sauté it in ghee or oil with the scooped out eggplant pieces to have something to snack on while the eggplants bake.
Bake until the eggplants are soft all the way through, 20-30 minutes, then rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Oh that looks seriously yum. I love Eggplants so this is a must try.
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Oh cute! Little eggplant boats! What a great idea, making veg and meat that little bit more interesting :)
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I’ve never really eaten eggplants before for some reason. You recipe though has inspired me to go out and try them. Look forward to cooking this up.
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Thank you for the delicious looking recipe!!
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You can make tbise dried out looking tomatoes more appealing if you spread a little mayonnaise and sprinkle salt and pepper on them, then broil at highest setting until the mayo brown, just a couple minutes. Add flavor to the mayo like garlic, onion, chili, herbs, etc.
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The recipe sounds delicious, it makes me want to actually try eggplants.
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This sounds just wonderful! I will definitely be making this. We love eggplant and love Middle Eastern fare.
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Tried this recipe the other day…DELICIOUS!!! I added mushrooms to it….awesome!
Thank you for the recipe!!! glad I found this blog. =)
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Looks absolutely delicious
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I’m not a veggie person, but THIS I would try. I make similar ground beef dishes like this, but I like the egg plant idea. Thanks,
Christine (wegener’s granulomatis 2005)
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I didn’t just look at the eggplants, I cooked them and ate them. Great recipe.
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Awesome!
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I made this last night after seeing it on your blog!! Wow! It was fabulous! Thank you!
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Made this last night and I am so pleased with the results – wanted to share photos with you, Russ! Thank you! Can’t wait for the cookbook to arrive! http://wholefoodhalfass.com/post/76326776788/february-10-dinner-karniyarik-turkish-stuffed
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I’m going to try this tonight. Thanks!
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This was the bomb.com. I was on Day 27 of the Whole 30 and running out of new recipes to try and get me through the last couple of days. This reinvigorated my commitment! So tasty and husband approved!
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If you cook with tomato paste/water sauce just a about 3/4 cup in bottom of pan, then drizzle on top when done, this will be extremely authentic,
My husband is Turkish and I make this dish a lot.
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Hi! Can I re-post this recipe to my blog, while providing a link your blog?
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Hi Kate, I would rather you link back to the recipe rather than re-post it on your blog, since that can negatively affect both of our SEO/site statistics (Google doesn’t like duplicate content). Thanks!
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You got it. Thank you, Russ!
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I made this last night and it came out great. It took a little longer than I expected to prepare everything, but otherwise I can’t complain at all! The eggplant was perfectly cooked and it was completely satisfying with the meat and tomatoes. I actually used canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh (I still put a fresh one on top though) and it worked great. Shared on my facebook page too!https://www.facebook.com/gourmetcreativedarcie/
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Hello,nice share.
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Thanks! Wish me luck :)
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