Stuffed Eggplant with Ground Beef

Ingredients:

• 4 eggplants
• 2 medium-sized onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 tomato
• 200 grams ground beef
• 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 tablespoon red pepper paste
• For layering:
  • 1 large potato
  • Ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, salt
• For the sauce:
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 cup water
  • Salt

Instructions:

1. Peel the eggplants and slice them into thin pieces. Soak them in salty water for 15 minutes to remove the bitterness. Pat dry the eggplant slices with a paper towel and fry them in hot oil until they turn golden brown. Fry the potato slices in the same way.
2. For the filling, sauté the onions in a pan until they become translucent. Add the ground beef and cook until it’s browned. Then, add the finely chopped bell pepper and garlic to the pan and sauté. Finally, add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, red pepper paste, and spices (black pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt). Cook everything together and remove from heat.
3. Arrange the fried eggplant slices in an ovenproof dish, allowing them to overlap slightly along the edges, as shown in the visual. Spread the cooked ground beef mixture over the eggplant slices.
4. Place the fried potato slices and tomato slices on top of the ground beef mixture, then fold the overlapping eggplant slices over the filling to close it.
5. For the sauce, mix the tomato paste, water, and salt together. Pour this sauce over the stuffed eggplants.
6. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 degrees Fahrenheit) and bake the dish in the oven until the top is nicely browned.

Your Kıymalı Patlıcan Kapama is now ready to serve. Enjoy your delicious stuffed eggplant with ground beef!

Recipe courtesy of yemek_kelebegi.