Stuffed eggplants
Here is a recipe for stuffed aubergines, as I know it from Turkey.
For 4 people:
4 small eggplants
300 g beef cakes
1 onion
Garlic to taste
1 small tin of pizza tomatoes
2 pointed peppers
tomato paste
Salt, cumin, dried mint, turmeric, oregano, Pul Biber (dried paprika flakes)
1 pack of sheep's cheese
For the sauce mix 1/2 l hot water, 2 tbsp tomato paste and 2 tbsp olive oil.
Wash the aubergines, cut off the ends, halve lengthways. Peel so that a strip of peel and a strip alternate "peeled" (then cook better) Cut the cut surface into cubes (do not cut to the brim), brush with olive oil and place on a baking tray or in a baking dish with the cut surface to brown for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees (top / bottom heat).
For the filling, chop the onion and garlic, sauté with about 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and the beef mixture. Wash the pointed peppers, remove the core and cut into rings. Add the tomatoes to the minced meat, simmer and season to taste (the filling should not be too liquid in the end).
Flatten the browned aubergines with a spoon, add the filling and sprinkle with crumbled sheep's milk cheese. Pour the sauce so that the aubergines are about half covered and cook in the oven for another 30 minutes (180 degrees).
If we have visitors, I expect a small aubergine per person and make one more as a reserve, but usually enough (if you still have side dishes) one per person. Instead of the individual spices you can also use a spice mixture or just salt and pepper powder or or or, depending on how it tastes. The filling can also be prepared well and then briefly warm up shortly before.
Stuffed aubergines are a very popular food in Turkey and everyone does it a bit differently, especially with the spices (even the sheep's cheese is optional, rounds off the taste in my opinion, but good).
In many recipes the aubergines are "fleshed out" and the pulp is then mixed with the filling, but that is unnecessary with this recipe, and you do not need a lot of fat either (if you pay attention to that ...)
