This is a variation on a traditional Turkish dish. I love the bold spices and the richness of the tomatoes in the savory sauce. It is not difficult to prepare, but does take a little bit of time, as you need to cook the eggplant prior to stuffing them.
I decided to make this vegetarian, but it can easily be made with lamb or beef. Just substitute meat for the Boca Crumbles.
Looking for some more Middle Eastern recipes?
Braised Chicken with Tomato and Kalamata Olives
Sweet Potato & Fig Recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi
Perfecting Creamy Hummus: Tips & Recipe
How to Prepare Traditional Baba Ghanoush- A Flavorful Eggplant Mezze
Authentic Khoresh Bademjan: A Flavorful Eggplant Stew
And of course, My Favorite Recipes
Ingredients:
4 medium Eggplant, about 2 lbs
1 lb Boca Crumbles or some other vegetarian meat substitute
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 cups diced Tomato
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 tsp Oregano
¼ tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Cloves
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp Pomegranate Molasses
4 Tbsp roasted Pine Nuts
1 cup Greek Yogurt, or suitable non dairy substitute
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Slice the eggplant in half and scrape out about half of the flesh and set aside. Then brush the halves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake the eggplant halves for 20-25 minutes until just soft to touch, but not mushy.
While the eggplant is baking, start preparing your sauce by browning the Boca crumbles in 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and set aside. Then add in the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil to your pan and sauté the onions, chopped eggplant flesh and garlic until translucent, add in the browned Boca crumbles, tomatoes, all of the spices and pomegranate molasses and bring to a simmer and continue to cook until the mixture is thickened. This will take approx. 45 min -1 hour.
Bring the oven up to 350F degrees. Then assemble the eggplants by spooning in the Boca and tomato mixture into the eggplant halves, and then lay them in Pyrex or other oven proof baking pan and then spoon on the yogurt and finally sprinkle the pine nuts. Then bake for 15-20 minutes and serve.
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Traditional Turkish Stuffed Eggplant Recipe: Easy & Flavorful
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Slice the eggplant in half and scrape out about half of the flesh and set aside. Then brush the halves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake the eggplant halves for 20-25 minutes until just soft to touch, but not mushy.
- While the eggplant is baking, start preparing your sauce by browning the Boca crumbles in 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and set aside. Then add in the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil to your pan and sauté the onions, chopped eggplant flesh and garlic until translucent, add in the browned Boca crumbles, tomatoes, all of the spices and pomegranate molasses and bring to a simmer and continue to cook until the mixture is thickened. This will take approx. 45 min -1 hour.
- Bring the oven up to 350F degrees. Then assemble the eggplants by spooning in the Boca and tomato mixture into the eggplant halves, and then lay them in Pyrex or other oven proof baking pan and then spoon on the yogurt and finally sprinkle the pine nuts. Then bake for 15-20 minutes and serve.