Patlijan Karni Yarek / Armenia
Patlijan Karni Yarek - Armenian Eggplant
1lb ground beef or lamb
2 onions finely sliced
1 small green pepper chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp all spice
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup plum tomatoes with juice (or canned whole tomatoes)
3 or 4 sprigs parsley
1 large eggplant
4 tablespoons unsalted melted butter
1 tablespoon tomato paste diluted in 1/2 cup water
1 fresh tomato
Heat a heavy pan and mash the meat into the pan until the color changes. Stir in onions and green pepper and stir. Sprinkle in a little salt, pepper, allspice, garlic, tomatoes, and 1/2 parsley. Stir and cook 20 minutes. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise, again in half, and again to make 8 pieces. Sprinkle lightly with salt and invert over a rack for 50 minutes. Then rinse eggplants and pat dry. Set in a baking dish, brush on butter and heat in an oven 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until light brown.
Take out of oven, slash eggplant slices across the center to make a cavity for the filling. Divide the filling among the eggplant slices. Set in a baking dish, pour diluted tomato paste over the pieces. Dot each eggplant piece with a tomato slice. Bake in 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.
If you have extra filling, put it in a tortilla and give it to your kids who don’t exactly like eggplant.
From- The New York Ethnic Food Market Guide and Cookbook by Vlima Liacouras Chantiles