I’m excited to share this braised eggplant with ground lamb — a dish I made nearly a month ago and have been thinking about ever since.
The recipe started from a craving for eggplant: I wanted it cooked until it was meltingly tender. Once that image was fixed in my head, the rest of the meal formed around it. The finished dish pairs soft braised eggplant and tomatoes with richly spiced ground lamb, finished with a cool yogurt sauce and bright, tangy cucumbers. The flavors and textures come together beautifully; it remains one of my favorite meals.
I’ve used the top image as my Facebook cover photo and Twitter background recently, so you might already have seen a preview. This recipe reflects what I want this blog to be about: approachable cooking that’s deeply flavorful. Each component is simple, but together they make a satisfying, memorable meal. Cooking it was fun, and eating it reminded me why I love being in the kitchen.
That night I also stepped out of my comfort zone and shot photos in manual mode. I was inspired by a photography talk and a recommended book that helped me understand exposure better. Learning to control the camera manually has already improved my images and made the process more enjoyable. I now get the shots I want faster and spend less time editing.
Braised Eggplant with Ground Lamb
Ingredients
- 1 cup Plain Fat Free Greek Yogurt
- 1 Lemon juiced
- ½ English seedless Cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced into half moons
- 1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
- ¼ cup White Vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Coriander Seeds
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 Garlic Cloves crushed
- 1 Eggplant peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 cups Mini-Heirloom or Grape Tomatoes halved
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 pound Ground Lamb
- 1 Tablespoon Ras El Hanout
- 1 Tablespoon Double-Concentrated Tomato Paste
- ½ cup Water
- 2 ounces Feta crumbled
- ¼ cup loosely packed Fresh Parsley torn
- Fresh Pita Bread for serving
Instructions
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In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt and lemon juice and season with a pinch of salt. Cover and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the cucumber slices, red wine vinegar, white vinegar and coriander seeds. Cover and set aside to pickle briefly.
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Heat the oven to 400°F. Coat the bottom of a heavy, oven-safe pot or Dutch oven with one tablespoon of olive oil. Add the cubed eggplant, crushed garlic and halved tomatoes. Cook uncovered in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to collapse and the eggplant starts to soften.
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Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the ground lamb and ras el hanout. Cook, breaking the meat up with a spoon, for about 10 minutes until browned and nearly cooked through. Drain and discard excess fat.
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Add the cooked lamb to the pot of vegetables. Stir in the tomato paste and water, then cover and continue cooking for about 20 minutes, until the eggplant is very tender and most of the liquid has reduced. Finish with crumbled feta and torn parsley. Serve with the yogurt sauce, pickled cucumbers and warm pita.