Stuffed Eggplant

INGREDIENTS:

Spicy Garlic Tahini Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plain, low-fat Greek yogurt • 2 tablespoons tahini paste • 6 cloves garlic • 1 tablespoon lemon juice • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or your desired amount) • 3 tablespoons water

Stuffed Eggplant Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon paprika • 1 teaspoon ground coriander • 1 teaspoon ground cumin • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon • 2 eggplants, cut in half length-wise and center scooped out leaving about 1” border all around • Olive oil (about 4 tablespoons, divided use) • Salt • Black pepper • 1 small onion, finely diced • 1/2 pound lean ground beef (or turkey, chicken, lamb, or sausage) • 4 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press • Pinch red pepper flakes (optional) • 1 1/2 cups cooked basmati rice (you can get this from ½ cup uncooked rice cooked with ¾ cup water)

• 1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint leaves, plus a couple extra leaves for garnish

• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped pistachios (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400°, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

-Prepare your garlic tahini sauce by adding all of the ingredients into a food processor and processing until smooth; pour into a dish, and set aside while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

-In a small ramekin, combine the paprika, coriander, cumin and cinnamon, and set this aside this seasoning mix for a moment.

-Place the four eggplant halves, flesh-side up, onto the baking sheet, and drizzle about 3 tablespoons of oil (total) over the flesh side of the cut eggplant, and sprinkle over about 1/3 of the seasoning mix from your ramekin, plus a couple of good pinches of salt and pepper; place into the oven to roast until tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, about 35 minutes.

-While your eggplant is roasting, prepare your filling by placing a pan over medium-high heat, and drizzling in about 1 tablespoon of the oil; once hot, add in the diced onion and saute for a few minutes until tender, then crumble in the ground beef and cook that for a few minutes with the onion; add in the remainder of the seasoning mix, along with a couple of pinches of salt and pepper, the garlic and the red pepper flakes (if using), and continue to cook until the meat is cooked through.

-Add to the cooked ground beef the cooked rice, the chopped cherry tomatoes, the chopped parsley and mint, plus the pistachios (if using), and fold together to combine; keep warm.

-Fill each roasted eggplant cavity with generous, equal portions of the warm filling, and place onto a plate; drizzle over some of the spicy garlic tahini sauce, and garnish with extra mint or parsley, if desired.

Credit to: https://thecozyapron.com/stuffed-eggplant/