Best 2 Turkish Stuffed Eggplant Karniyarik Recipes

TURKISH STUFFED EGGPLANT (KARNIYARIK)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush some olive oil over the bottom of a baking dish.
• Peel 4 strips, spaced evenly apart, from each eggplant. Place eggplants in the prepared dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until eggplant just start to soften, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with some olive oil. Leave oven on and let eggplant cool.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and salt; saute until onions are translucent and slightly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add lamb and cook, breaking it up into small pieces, until browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, rosemary, parsley, tomato paste, and 1 teaspoon salt to the lamb. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add poblano and Fresno chiles. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Add Pecorino cheese.
• Slice an opening into each eggplant through one of the peeled strips. Spread eggplant 'bellies' open with two spoons and remove excess seeds if desired. Season insides with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and fill with the stuffing. Drizzle remaining olive oil on top; pour chicken broth into the dish.
• Continue baking until eggplants are very soft and tender, about 45 minutes. Spoon pan drippings on top to serve.

KARNIYARIK (TURKISH STUFFED EGGPLANT)

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with water, stir in 2 tsp of salt, then add the sliced eggplants. Weigh the eggplants down with a plate to keep them submerged; soak for 30 minutes while you prep the filling.
• Heat a skillet on medium heat for a minute, then add the ground beef. Sauté until most of the pink is gone, stirring frequently to break up chunks, about 4 minutes.
• Add the onions and continue to sauté until the onions start to soften, about 4 more minutes.
• Add the coarsely chopped tomatoes (be sure to reserve four tomato slices for later), tomato paste, garlic, and salt and pepper; simmer until the tomatoes are softened, another 5 minutes.
• Stir in the chopped parsley, season to with more salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.
• Remove the eggplants from the water, rinse, and pat dry. Season with a little salt and pepper.
• In a large skillet, warm 2 tbsp ghee or coconut oil on med/high heat for a minute, the place the eggplant cut-side-down.
• Cook in batches until browned, about 4 minutes, then set on paper towels to drain. You only need to brown the cut side of the eggplant.
• Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
• Scoop out the seed part of each eggplant and set aside. You don't need to spoon out too much of the eggplant, just enough to make a divot to put the filling into.
• Spoon in the filling then lay down half of a chili pepper and a tomato slice on each eggplant. It's okay if you have leftover filling - you can sauté it in ghee or oil with the scooped out eggplant pieces to have something to snack on while the eggplants bake.
• Bake until the eggplants are soft all the way through, 20-30 minutes, then rest for 5 minutes before serving.