Karnıyarık — Turkish eggplants stuffed with ground meat

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):

4 medium eggplants
300 g ground meat (beef or lamb)
2 medium onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves
3 ripe tomatoes
2 green peppers
2 tablespoons tomato paste
100 ml oil for frying + 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
200 ml hot water

PREPARATION STEPS:

Wash the eggplants and peel the skin in lengthwise stripes (“zebra”). Salt them and leave them for 20 minutes to release their bitter juice, then dry them with kitchen paper.

Fry the eggplants in hot oil on all sides until they soften and turn golden; remove them onto absorbent paper.

In a pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, fry the onion until soft; add the garlic and the ground meat and fry until browned. Add the tomato paste, the chopped tomatoes, the chopped peppers, the paprika, the pepper and the salt; simmer for 10 minutes. At the end, add the chopped parsley.

Carefully open a lengthwise slit in each eggplant (without cutting all the way through) and fill it with the meat mixture.

Arrange the eggplants in a baking tray; place a slice of tomato and a pepper on each. Pour around them 200 ml of hot water mixed with a little tomato paste.

Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 30–35 minutes. Serve hot, with boiled rice alongside.

TIME AND SERVINGS: Preparation about 30 minutes, baking 30–35 minutes. 4 servings.