Stuffed Aubergine with Lamb and Pine Nuts
I was quite delighted when I recently received a copy of Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s Jerusalem as a present for my birthday as I’m completely taken with it. For those unfamiliar with the authors, they both hail from Jerusalem but didn’t meet until they moved to London and are now business partners combining their cultural backgrounds and influences into their restaurant, Ottolenghi.
I already have Ottolenghi The Cookbook in my possession but have sadly never cooked from it. A friend raved about Jerusalem so I dived into it seeking inspiration. It didn’t take long! The book is not only full of gloriously tempting recipes but is also a discourse about Jerusalem the city, the diversity of its people, the origins of its food. This is a book that you can even take to bed with you to feed your foodie dreams for the night let alone fill your stomach during the day!
I have to share with you the dish I cooked from the book last night – Stuffed Aubergine with Lamb and Pine Nuts. As I was only feeding myself and Hubbie, I cut the ingredient portions in half and used only one large aubergine between us. It was enough as we were both stuffed to the proverbial gills afterwards. Yes folks, this is a plate cleaner and I strongly urge you to give it a try!
Serves four, generously
Ingredients:
4 medium aubergines (about 1.2kg), halved lengthways
6 tbsp olive oil
1½ tsp ground cumin
1½ tbsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 onions (340g), peeled and finely chopped
500g minced lamb
50g pine nuts
20g flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tbsp caster sugar
150ml water
1½ tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp tamarind paste
4 cinnamon sticks
Salt and black pepper
Method:
- Preheat oven 200C fan.
- Place the aubergine halves, skin side down, in an oven tray large enough to accommodate them snugly. Brush the flesh with 4 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with 1 teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper, Roast for about 20 minutes, until golden-brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
- While the aubergines are cooking, you can start making the stuffing by heating up the remaining olive oil in a large sauté 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, parsley, tomato paste, a third of the sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Continue to cook and stir for another 8 minutes, until the meat is cooked.
- Place the remaining spice mix in a bowl and add the water, lemon juice, tamarind, remaining sugar, cinnamon sticks and ½ teaspoon of salt; mix well.
- Reduce the oven temperate to 175C. Pour the spice mix into the bottom of the aubergine roasting tin. Spoon the lamb mixture on top of each aubergine. Cover the tin tightly with foil, return to the oven and roast for an hour and a half, by which point the aubergines are completely soft and the sauce thick; twice through the cooking, remove the foil and baste the aubergines with the sauce, adding some water if the sauce dries out. Serve warm, not hot, or at room temperature.
Extracted with kind permission from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi {Ebury Press, £27}
Photography: Jonathan Lovekin
I’d love to hear if you make it or have made it already and what you think of it!
Enjoy!
Xx Paula
5 comments on “Stuffed Aubergine with Lamb and Pine Nuts”
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Salt, Pepper and a Dollop of Cream 
I love this recipe and the book which is beautiful. Try the beetroot salad from the first book, Ottolenghi The Cookbook, I can’t tell you how many times I have made it – perfection!
Thanks Anna! Is that the one on page 63. I’ve taken a look at that recipe and it looks fantastic! I’ll definitely make it as I love beetroot! Thanks for the suggestion :). Xx Paula
Yes that is the one. I haven’t had golden beetroot or chervil when I’ve made it and always use rocket and it is still perfect!
Love Jerusalem, such a fantastic cookbook. I haven’t tried this one yet.
Fab book and a fab recipe. I’ve made this so many times since and Hubby just loves it :). Turkey burgers are also fab. More of those in another post soon 😉