Meat Hooks

When we think of spices with meat, we think of hot spices: pepper, chile, mustard, horseradish. Turkish, Greek and Egyptian cooks, however, flavor ground meat with aromatic spices such as cinnamon, cumin and allspice. Since we already know their flavors, the Middle Eastern accent is exotic and familiar at the same time, and quite delicious.

Consider spiced ground meat as the base for a variety of dishes. Serve it over rice or couscous , pack it into pita bread for a quick dinner or use it to stuff vegetables such as potatoes or eggplant.

In this recipe, ground meat is mixed with a little sauteed Japanese eggplant, then packed into eggplant shells and served with tomato sauce . It’s an elaborate recipe that can be served for company or just as an alternative to the usual hamburger.

MEAT-STUFFED EGGPLANT

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 small Japanese eggplants, halved

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3/4 pound ground beef or lamb

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cumin seeds

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons minced cilantro

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Heat oil in large non-stick skillet. Add eggplants, skin-side down, and 1 clove garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned, turning eggplant over halfway through, about 5 minutes per side. Remove eggplants and discard garlic.

Add beef and brown, breaking up meat with spoon. Drain off fat. Add 1/2 cup tomato sauce to meat along with 1 tablespoon tomato paste, cinnamon and cumin seeds. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer mixture 10 minutes.

Using serrated spoon or paring knife, scoop eggplant pulp out of skins, leaving skins intact. Chop eggplant pulp and add to meat mixture. Spoon mixture into 4 eggplant shells. Set aside.

To same skillet, add remaining garlic clove, remaining 1 cup tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, cilantro, salt and pepper to taste and paprika. Simmer 5 minutes. Gently return eggplant “boats” to skillet, meat-side up. Cover skillet and let mixture simmer until eggplant is tender and sauce is very hot, about 15 minutes. Serve eggplant boats with skillet sauce while hot. Makes 2 servings.