"What are you going to make?” asked my better half when I was wondering what to bring to an afternoon gathering with friends. “I don’t really know” I answered. When I run out of ideas what to cook, I go shopping.I went to our neighborhood farmers market and filled up the shopping cart. When I got back home my wife had already left. She came back just as I took out the the loaf pan from the oven that was covered with tin foil. “So what did you make?” she asked “take a look” I answered “I think you’d like it, but I can’t really tell how it came out” I added uncovering the dish. “Eggplant?” she wondered, "You don’t eat eggplant." "Yes," I replied, "but you like them."
Ingredients
3-4 large eggplants
1 ½ lb ground beef
1 onion diced and fried
3 garlic cloves minced
½ cup sliced green olives
4 baby bella mushrooms diced
1 green hot pepper seeded and diced
4 sage leaves cut rough
1 cup parsley chopped
2 TBS roasted pine nuts
2 eggs
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ras el hanut
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Heat oven to 425 F. cut eggplant edges and slice lengthwise ½ inch thick. Place in a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, brush with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes. Let cool.
Place all filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Lower oven heat to 350 F. Line eggplant slices in a loaf pan overlapping slightly, and allowing slices to hang 1 inches over edge of pan. Fill it with the meat mixture and tighten. Fold overhanging eggplant over filling. Cover pan with aluminum foil and make a few holes. Bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool and turn the pan over a large enough plate.
