Serves: 4 – generously

Nat absolutely loves eggplant and she gravitates that way always.

Thus, this classicly Isreali dinner and one that was as generous as it was hearty. Another great Yotem Ottolenghi recipe.

Spiced lamb mince and pine nuts are a combination for the ages. Read through the ingredient list and you’ll see why is just so classicly works. Predictable and great.

Yum.

Great weeknight cooking.

Ingredients

4 medium eggplants (about 1.2kg), halved lengthways
6 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 medium onions, finely chopped
500gm lamb mince
50gm pine nuts
20gm flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tsp tomato paste
3 tsp caster sugar
150ml water
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp tamarind paste
4 cinnamon sticks
Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200c.
2. Place the eggplant halves, skin-side down, in a roasting tin large enough to accommodate them snugly. Brush the flesh with 4 tbsp of the olive oil and season with 1 tsp of salt and plenty of black pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
3. While the eggplants are coking, start the stuffing by heating up the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan. Mix together the cumin, paprika and ground cinnamon and add half of this spice mix to the pan along with the onion. Cook on a medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, stirring often, before adding the lamb, pine nuts, tomato paste, 1 tsp of the sugar, 1 tsp salt and some black pepper. Continue to cook and stir for another 8 minutes, until the meat is cooked.
4. Place the remaining spice mix in a bowl and add the water, lemon juice, tamarind, remaining sugar, cinnamon stivks and 1/2 tsp of salt: mix well.
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 195c. Pour the spice mix into the bottom of the eggplant roasting tin. Spoon the eggplant mixture on top of each eggplant. Cover the tin tightly with foil, return to the oven and roast 1 hour and 30 minutes, by which point the eggplents should be completely soft and the sauce thick; twice through the cooking, remove the foil and baste the eggplants with sauce, adding some water if the sauce dries up.