Indian Lamb And Eggplant Napoleon Recipes

Steps:

• In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat, and brown the lamb on all sides. Mix in the eggplants, tomatoes, onions, green bell peppers, and garlic. Cook and stir until tender and lightly browned.
• In a small bowl, blend the tomato paste and water. Mix into the pot with the lamb. Season lamb with allspice, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat shreds easily with a fork. Add a little water as necessary to keep the ingredients moist.

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a colander set in a bowl or the sink; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Let eggplant stand for at least 1 hour. Rinse off the bitter liquid and excess salt and drain well.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and celery; cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent and celery is fragrant, about 5 minutes.
• While vegetables are cooking, combine ground cumin, oregano, rosemary, paprika, mint, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl or mortar and pestle and mix well; this is the lamb seasoning (see Cook's Note). Set seasoning aside.
• Stir eggplant cubes and garlic into the vegetables in the skillet, mixing well, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and sprinkle with half of the lamb seasoning mixture. Reserve remaining seasoning. Stir gently and cook for 5 minutes more.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
• Pour chicken broth and half the can of tomato sauce into the skillet and simmer for 10 minutes; add a little water if the sauce starts to get dry. Transfer the sauce to the prepared casserole dish.
• Return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat and heat the reserved tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Place ground lamb into skillet and sprinkle with remaining seasoning mixture. Brown lamb in the hot oil, stirring frequently, until the meat is evenly browned; it should look like imperfect meatballs.
• Gently transfer the lamb to the casserole dish, pushing it down into the vegetable mixture so that it is at least partially submerged. Stir fresh lemon juice into the remaining tomato sauce and pour the sauce over the casserole.
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending upon how tender you like your vegetables.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, including the stems. Using a sharp paring knife, scoop out some of the flesh, leaving a shell that is 1/3 inch thick and reserving the scooped-out eggplant. Place the eggplant shells snugly in a single layer in a large (10-by-14-inch) rectangular baking dish. Brush the eggplant all over with 1/4 cup olive oil (use it all!) and sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour 1/4 cup water in the baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes, until the shells are tender when pierced with a small knife. Remove from the oven, discard the foil, and leave the oven on.
• Meanwhile, for the lamb filling, in a large (12-inch) skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, tossing occasionally, until tender. Cut the reserved scooped-out eggplant into 1/2-inch dice (you should have about 2 cups). Add the eggplant to the onion and cook for 5 minutes, adding more oil if it seems dry. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the ground lamb and cook, mashing lightly with a fork, for 5 to 7 minutes, until no longer pink. Add the oregano and cinnamon and cook for one minute. Add the wine, tomatoes, marinara, parsley, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the liquid evaporates. Spoon the filling into the eggplant halves in the baking dish. (You may have a little extra filling.)
• In a medium bowl, mash the ricotta, goat cheese, egg yolks, mint, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper with a fork. With a spoon, place large dollops of the ricotta mixture on the lamb filling and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling is hot and the topping is lightly browned. Serve warm, sprinkled with extra mint.

Steps:

• For the stew, fry the onion in the oil until soft. Cut the meat into 1-inch cubes, add them to the pan, and cook, turning to brown lightly all over. Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cover with water and simmer, with the lid on, for 1 hour, until the meat is very tender, adding water if it becomes dry, but letting the sauce reduce at the end.
• For the eggplant sauce, prick the eggplants with a pointed knife to prevent them from bursting in the oven. Place them on a large piece of foil on a baking sheet and roast them in a hot oven preheated to 475°F for about 45 to 55 minutes, or until they feel very soft when you press them and the skins are wrinkled. When cool enough to handle, peel and drop them into a strainer or colander with small holes. Press out as much of the water and juices as possible. Still in the colander, chop the flesh with a pointed knife, then mash it into a purée with a fork or wooden spoon, letting the juices escape through the holes.
• Make a béchamel sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan, add the flour, and stir over low heat for about 2 minutes, until it is well blended. Take the pan off the heat and add the milk gradually, beating vigorously all the time to avoid lumps forming. Add salt and nutmeg, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for about 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
• Off the heat, mix the eggplant purée into the béchamel sauce, then return to the heat, beating vigorously until it is well blended. Add the grated cheese and stir until it has melted. Add a little salt if necessary.
• Serve the meat stew in a wide shallow dish with the eggplant sauce in a circle around it.

Steps:

• Whisk eggs together in a deep container. Pour bread crumbs in another deep container.
• Dip each slice of eggplant into the eggs, covering both sides, and press into the bread crumbs until evenly coated.
• Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Arrange a layer of eggplant slices in the skillet; cook until crispy, 2 to 4 minutes. Spray tops with cooking spray and flip; continue cooking until second side is browned and eggplant is tender, 2 to 4 minutes more. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining slices.
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
• Arrange a layer of eggplant slices in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Top each slice with a basil leaf, 1 tomato slice, and 1 slice of mozzarella cheese. Place another eggplant slice on top. Cover with remaining tomato and mozzarella cheese slices.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is softened, but not melted, about 5 minutes.

Steps:

• Heat broiler and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.
• Brush both sides of eggplant slices with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Arrange slices on prepared baking sheet and broil in batches until they are deep mahogany brown, turning once halfway through, 5 to 7 minutes per side.
• Adjust the oven to 375 degrees with rack positioned in the center.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, but not browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground lamb or beef, stirring frequently and breaking up meat into very small pieces with the side of a metal spoon. Season with remaining teaspoon salt, cinnamon and pepper. Sauté until meat is just cooked through. Taste and add more salt or pepper, or both, as needed.
• In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add pine nuts and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir nuts to coat them with butter and continue stirring constantly until nuts are golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Keep a close watch over the nuts; they can burn quickly once they begin to brown. Transfer nuts to a bowl while still warm and salt them lightly.
• Coat a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish. Lay 1/3 of the eggplant slices in a single layer over the sauce, covering as much surface area of the bottom of the dish as possible. Spoon half the meat evenly over eggplant. Pour 1/3 of the remaining tomato sauce evenly over meat. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the pine nuts. Layer again with eggplant, meat, tomato sauce and pine nuts. Finish with a layer of eggplant and cover with more tomato sauce, sprinkling top with pine nuts.
• Pour 1 cup warm water around the perimeter of the baking dish. (Sauce will thicken as it bakes.) Cover pan with foil and bake for 90 minutes. Remove foil and top eggplant evenly with mozzarella. Bake for 15 minutes longer, uncovered, or until the cheese is bubbling and golden. Serve eggplant warm, over rice.