Ingredients
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0.5 pound ground beef meat
A handful of white rice
1 small size onion
1 large size egg
A pinch of parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt, oregano, cumin and red or black pepper as desired
2 large size eggplants
Directions
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Remember how we prepared the mixture for the meatballs last time? We are going to do almost the same thing. Chop the onions and parsley first, as small as possible please. In a medium size bowl, mix all the ingredients except the eggplant (obviously!). Also add rice. Note that there are no bread crumbs for this mixture. Continue mixing with hand until all the ingredients are almost homogeneously mixed.
In Turkey, we would have small size eggplants. They would not be bigger than your fist. However, in the US, large and even gigantic fruits and vegetables are common! If you can find fist-size eggplants, that's perfect. If not, cut the large eggplants into three pieces. Carve the inner part of the eggplant, but do not make it like a tube. Leave the bottom part of it not carved, so it is like a glass. Be careful not to make a hole on the walls or at the bottom.
Fill the eggplants with the prepared mixture. Put a slice of tomato to cover its open top. In a middle-sized deep pan, mix and heat a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of tomato paste. Put the stuffed eggplants in the pan, cover the top and leave on medium heat for about 15 minutes.
Finally, fill the pan with hot water until it covers all the stuffed eggplants. Cook 20 more minutes over medium heat. You can understand if it is cooked by checking the hardness of the rice in the mixture.
This is it, enjoy!
