There are a couple of foods that, when I make them, I say to myself: why aren't we eating more ________ in life? Eggplant is one of those foods. And leeks. If you are a regular reader of my website, you know I love my leeks. But eggplant is so completely fantastic, it feels like *this* should be the vegetable we make with everything. Eggplant should be the broccoli/cauliflower/asparagus of our lives, but it often lives in the shadows. Lurking. Waiting to be loved. Well, that ends today. Eggplant, we love you and we honor you. So let me show you how to make a fantastic stuffed eggplant with lamb and saffron rice.
Let's Talk About Saffron for a Moment
It is believed the origin of saffron is Iranian according to Wikipedia, and they produce about 88% of all the saffron in the world. Saffron (or Zaferan) is a spice derived from a flower that is used to flavor and color food. If you ask anyone what it tastes like they will probably have a hard time describing it.
The best description I have found online is that it has an earthy, sweet flavor with a slight floral tone and notes of honey. Saffron is very special and can also be very pricey. I am lucky I have an Iranian friend who gifts me with this amazing spice when I need it. Saffron is also available at your local grocery store for about $15 (I believe McCormick sells it).
There is also a budget alternative for about $9. It's a brand called Badia and they will sometimes be located within the regular spice aisle at your store. Other times, the Badia display will be in the international aisle so check there too.
I love adding saffron to rice and ground meat dishes. The flavor, the smell of it and the beautiful bright color are incomparable.
O Eggplant, eggplant wherefore art thou Eggplant?
Does anyone else long for more eggplant in life? I mean, how many times do you pass it by at the grocery store? And why do you keep doing that? It happens with radishes too. Eggplant and radishes are the loneliest vegetables in the produce section. Let's help them feel better about themselves, okay? Go forth and eat more eggplant! If you need ideas, I have eggplant towers, French bread pizza with eggplant , roasted veggie sandwich with eggplant, puff pastry with eggplant, and chicken & eggplant stir fry.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: why aren't we eating more eggplant in life? It is such an amazing vegetable, but it's actually a fruit, but we all know it's really a vegetable even though it's a fruit. I would like to predict that 2024 will be the year of the eggplant. Who's with me?
Silence of the La... wait, what?
I don't normally cook with lamb and the reason actually stems from being traumatized by *that* movie years ago. Yes, I'm referring to Silence of the Lambs. Two things really, a childhood memory of being forced to eat some kind of lamb at a Greek restaurant that I found very gamey. I didn't know that was the word to describe it at the time I just knew I didn't like it. And second, *that* movie. The story Clarice told about running away with just one lamb and trying to save that one lamb from the slaughterhouse really got to me. Oh, that and the theme of Hannibal Lector's.... eating... habits. I don't want to put that word in print because I don't want my food blog coming up when that word is searched... and someone thinking my website is about... something... else.
Then again, our attention spans are getting so short, it's highly unlikely anyone will even read this far down a page. If you're still here, hey there, how's your day going?
However, recently I've had ground lamb a number of times with saffron rice and I have fallen in love with it. With this recipe you could really eat the rice and lamb on its own and it would be fantastic. But to round out the meal a bit more, piling that awesome rice mixture on top of the scored and roasted eggplant is out of bounds delicious!
Easy Steps to Making this Stuffed Eggplant with lamb and saffron rice
Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Saffron Rice
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 portions 1x
Description
If you’ve been thinking you need to eat more eggplant, you should make this outstanding stuffed eggplant with lamb and saffron rice.
Ingredients
¼ cup saffron water (¼ teaspoon of saffron threads soaked in ¼ cup of warm or room temp. water)
3 medium eggplants, sliced in half lengthwise
Olive oil for brushing eggplant
Salt to season eggplant
2 tablespoons mint, chopped fine & divided
2 teaspoons cilantro, chopped fine & divided
1 teaspoon garlic, finely diced (approx. 1 medium clove)
½ to ¾ cup onion, finely diced (about ½ a medium onion, plus a chunk)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 lb ground lamb
2 teaspoons Ras el Hanout spice
2 tablespoons saffron water
1 lemon, cut in half
For the rice:
1 cup basmati rice (I used extra-long grain)
1 tablespoon butter
Salt
For the lentils (these are optional):
¼ cup green lentils (optional)
For the yogurt topping (optional):
¾ cup plain yogurt
Juice from half a lemon
1 teaspoon mint
Instructions
- Add ¼ teaspoon of saffron threads to ¼ cup of room temperature or slightly warm water. Stir once or twice gently. Let the saffron sit aside and steep while you do the other prep.
- Prep your pots with the lentils in one pot (if you’re making, it’s optional) and the rice in another. Follow the package instructions for both. Plan your time. The eggplant takes 30-35 minutes to roast in the oven. You can start both the rice and lentils around the same time you put the eggplant in the oven.
- The lentils are optional and the recipe is great with or without them. Make sure to rinse them first. Then just boil them like pasta and don’t worry about the ratio of water to lentils. It doesn’t matter. Bring to a boil then turn down to simmer, lid on, for 15-20 minutes. Check to make sure they are tender. If not, cook a little longer. Remove from heat and run through a strainer. Put them in a bowl, hit it with a pinch of salt, mix and set aside for later.
- Cook rice in your rice cooker or a pot on the stovetop. I do usually use my rice cooker, but since this is only 1 cup of rice I used a pot with water, butter and salt.
- Cut the tips off your eggplant then slice the eggplant in half lengthwise. With a small paring knife, score the eggplant on the diagonal with your cuts about one inch apart. Don’t cut through the skin on the bottom. Rotate the eggplant and cut in the opposite direction on the diagonal to make a crisscross pattern. My video shows this well.
- Brush olive oil on the crisscross side of the eggplant then season with a light sprinkling of salt. Turn the eggplant so it’s facing cut-side down and bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 30-35 minutes depending on the size of your eggplant. A fork test works well here to check for tenderness.
- Chop the mint fine. I stack the mint leaves on top of each other (like when I cut basil). Roll the stacked leaves like a cigar, then slice the mint into ribbons first then chop down finer from there.
- Chop the top part of your cilantro bunch off then dice down from there.
- Dice the garlic fine.
- Dice the onion fine.
- Mix one tablespoon of tomato paste with a splash of water in a small bowl.
- Heat two large pans on medium-to-high heat. One pan for cooking the lamb – no oil needed here. And one pan with a teaspoon or so of olive oil for the onions and garlic.
- For the ground lamb, cook for about 7-8 minutes until crumbly and crispy. You’ll need to continually chop the lamb while cooking to get it small and crumbly. I also like it to get a little crispy too.
- For the onions, add a little salt and pepper and stir the onions a few minutes until slightly translucent, then add garlic to the center of the pan and add a splash more olive oil if needed. Let it sit there a minute, then mix with the onions and cook another minute or so until the garlic becomes fragrant. Then turn off the heat.
- Toward the end of cooking the lamb, drain most of the fat from the pan, but leave a little there. Depending on the brand of lamb there may be a ton of fat or only a little. Tilt the pan carefully, spoon out the fat and put it in a bowl.
- Once the lamb is crispy and crumbly, add the onion and garlic mixture, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of the mint, 1 teaspoon of the cilantro, the Ras el Hanout spice, and two tablespoons of saffron water. Mix everything together until well combined. Test for seasoning and hit it with a little salt (maybe ¼ teaspoon), then one final mix and you’re done.
- The yogurt mix is optional. You could just spoon on dollups of plain, whole milk yogurt or serve it on the side. But if you’d like, mix ¾ cup of plain yogurt with juice from half a lemon and 1 teaspoon of chopped mint. Mix together and serve with eggplant (on top, on the side – whatever you like).
- Add about one cup or so of the cooked basmati rice to a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of the saffron water and mix with the rice until it all turns yellow.
- In a larger mixing bowl, add the remaining cooked basmati rice, then the saffron rice and mix together.
- Add the lentils (if you’re using) and the lamb mixture and mix everything together well. If there is any saffron water left, add it to the bowl and mix.
- Place the cooked eggplant on a platter and spoon the saffron rice and lamb mixture on top of each eggplant. Add a dollup of the yogurt mixture to the top or use a squeeze bottle to drizzle on top. Garnish with the remaining mint and cilantro. Cut the other half of the lemon into 3-4 pieces and use to garnish platter. Serve immediately. Spoons work best for eating these so you can scoop out the eggplant flesh easily. I wouldn’t recommend eating the skin.
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