Cinnamon on meat? You bet. This is wonderful comfort food. Soaking the eggplant before it is used removes any bitterness.
1 large eggplant, sliced, soaked in salt water for 20 minutes, and rinsed. (If I'm slicing, I peel the eggplant, if chopping, I leave the skin on.)
1 lb. ground beef
1 large can chopped tomatoes or sliced fresh tomatoes, I've substituted a can of tomato soup too.
salt
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 med. onions, chopped
Olive oil
1-2 med. potatoes, chopped
cinnamon
Cook the onions in a drizzle of olive oil until tender. Add beef, salt to taste, garlic, and cook until browned. Grease a baking pan and put a layer of the meat mix. Add a layer of potatoes, sprinkle with salt, and a layer of tomatoes, sprinkle with cinnamon. Add a layer of eggplant, sprinkle with cinnamon. Repeat until all is used up. Actually, I just chop it all up and stir it together anymore. Bake 350 degrees until the eggplant and potatoes are tender when poked with a fork.
Originally from Finest Recipes From the Middle East by Yasmine Betar, 1957, a spiral bound cookbook my mother picked up back in the 1970s when she was first learning to cook Arabian food. This unassuming little book has seen a lot of use.
Ms. Paine - I just had to tell you how happy I am to have found this recipe!
ReplyDeleteI've made this dish many times, using Lamb and Brown Rice instead of potatoes, but I based my version on Yasmine Betar's recipe. I've managed to misplace my copy of her spiral cookbook, a copy I bought in D.C. years ago, signed by Yasmine.
I really didn't need to refresh myself on the recipe, I'm so familiar with it, but I'd hoped to see it again just for fun.
Imagine my surprise when a Google search brought your copy of the recipe right up, complete with a scan of the original page in Betar's book, looking as stained and time-worn as my own. Thank you so much!
Randy Bowser