Eggplant Stuffed with Meat in Tomato Sauce

👨‍🍳 Method

To assemble

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Halve the eggplants lengthwise and scrape out the flesh with a spoon, leaving a border.

   KnifeCutting board
3. 3
   Arrange the halves in a baking dish, cut side up, and drizzle with some of the olive oil.

   Baking pan
4. 4
   Bake 20 minutes, until the eggplant softens.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡The first bake softens the eggplant: its flesh comes out easily with a spoon, and the skin stays a sturdy boat for filling.

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
5. 5
   Heat the rest of the olive oil in a pan over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
6. 6
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
7. 7
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
8. 8
   Add the ground meat and fry, breaking up the lumps, until cooked through.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
9. 9
   Add the rice, paprika, cumin, turmeric, salt and black pepper and ½ cup water and cook 10 minutes.

   Stove
10. 10
    Roughly chop the scraped-out eggplant flesh, add it to the filling and stir.

    KnifeCutting board
11. 11
    Fill the eggplant boats with the filling.
12. 12
    Pour the tomatoes into the baking dish, around the eggplant boats.
13. 13
    Bake another 30 minutes, until the eggplant is tender.

    ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan
14. 14
    Sprinkle the parsley on top and serve hot.