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    Home » seasonal recipes » fall » Get Stuffed!: Stuffed Eggplants with Lamb Filling

    Get Stuffed!: Stuffed Eggplants with Lamb Filling

    Oct 15, 2009 · 8 Comments

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    Sometimes, when I get a really bad case of chef's block, I've been known to wander aimlessly through the supermarket aisles until inspiration finally jumps up and grabs me.

    Other times, I'll have walked into the store with a perfectly good recipe planned out, only to change my mind when an ingredient catches my eye. Take this recipe for stuffed eggplant, for example.

    Stuffed Baby Eggplants

    It all started when a bag of cute little baby eggplants practically jumped into my basket as I walked into the greengrocer's one evening.

    (Other people get followed home by stray animals... me, I get followed home by fresh produce instead. The Boy has gotten used to having me sidle over to him in the middle of the supermarket with big puppy dog eyes and begging "Lookit! It's a celery root! Isn't it the cutest? Can we take it home? Pleeeeease?")

    It seemed like a shame not to show off the adorable little plump shape of these mini-eggplants, so it was pretty much a given that I'd have to go with stuffed eggplant.

    Add a pack of ground lamb sitting in the fridge, some mint from the garden that ought to get used before the frost and a handful of leftover pine nuts from last month's pine nut tart, and there you have it... stuffed baby eggplant with a Middle Eastern sort of filling.

    Not bad for a seat-of-the-pants dinner, don't you think?

    If you end up with any leftover filling (or if you just can't be bothered with stuffing eggplants in the first place), you can also spoon it onto couscous, pasta or rice instead. It's not as pretty, but it's still awfully tasty.

    //

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    Stuffed Baby Eggplants

    Stuffed Baby Eggplants with Lamb Filling


    • Author: Isabelle Boucher (Crumb)
    • Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
    • Yield: 4 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Plump baby eggplants stuffed with a Middle Eastern inspired ground lamb filling seasoned with cinnamon, pine nut, mint and feta cheese.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 4 baby eggplants, about 3-4" long each
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 4 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
    • 2 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
    • 1 lb lean ground lamb
    • 3 tbsp tomato paste
    • ½ tsp cinnamon
    • Pinch hot pepper flakes
    • Salt and pepper
    • 3 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
    • ½ cup pine nuts
    • ¼ chopped fresh mint
    • ½ cup crumbled feta cheese

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 375F.
    2. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise. Using a grapefruit spoon, gently scoop out pulp from eggplant halves, leaving ½" thick shells. Roughly chop the scooped-out pulp and set aside. Sprinkle inside surfaces of eggplant shells with salt, and place face down on a paper towel to drain for 15-30 minutes.
    3. Heat 3 tbsp of the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper, and continue sauteeing until onion is golden and peppers are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the ground lamb and chopped eggplant, and cook until lamb is browned and eggplant is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, cinnamon and red pepper flakes, stirring until just warmed through.
    4. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and lots of black pepper, then stir in the tomatoes, pine nuts and fresh mint.
    5. Pat the shells dry with paper towels, removing any excess salt remaining on the surface. Brush with remaining 1 tbsp oil and arrange in a baking dish, cut side up. Divide the lamb mixture among the eggplant shells, mounding the filling slightly, the top with crumbled feta cheese.
    6. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the eggplant shells are tender and filling is bubbling and golden.
    • Prep Time: 40 mins
    • Cook Time: 30 mins
    • Category: Main

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    Comments

    1. Elizabeth says

      September 15, 2018 at 3:00 pm

      I just made this! Absolutely delicious! I will definitely make this again!

      Reply
    2. Anonymous says

      August 21, 2010 at 11:34 am

      Thanks for this recipe! I stumbled on it a few months ago and it has become my dinner party staple. I absolutely love it!
      SP, London

      Reply
    3. Anonymous says

      August 10, 2010 at 10:29 pm

      I made this with a medium-large eggplant instead of baby eggplants and turkey instead of lamb and it still turned out great. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks for sharing it. I did add more cinnamon.

      Reply
    4. Madison Harris says

      March 3, 2010 at 11:26 am

      Hi Isabelle,

      My name is Madison Harris and I'm a relationship manager at NutsOnline.com, a leading web retailer for Pine Nuts (though I should note we also sell many other nuts, dried fruit, candy and trail mixes). :)

      Our users love our products but have increasingly told us that they’re interested in information about the nutritional aspects of Pine Nuts as well as health tips and recipes. As we only seek to please our customers, we’ve begun compiling a list of the best informational sites for Pine Nuts lovers-- you can see our progress here: https://www.nutsonline.com/links#pinenuts

      As you can see, we’ve linked to your site in an effort to connect our customers with useful information about the Pine Nuts they love, and we’re hoping you’ll be willing to return the favor by linking back to our Pine Nuts product page. :) If you do a web search you’ll see NutsOnline consistently has low prices and very favorable customer satisfaction.

      We’d be eternally grateful if you could place a link to: https://www.nutsonline.com/nuts/pinenuts/pine.html within the text "Pine Nuts" on your site, so that if people are interested in buying Pine Nuts, they’ll know exactly where to go!

      Let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions, and I’ll follow up right away-- feel free to contact me directly at [email protected]. I’d be more than happy to tell you more about NutsOnline and provide any follow up detail you’d like!

      Very Best Regards,

      ~Madison

      Madison Harris
      Relationship Manager, NutsOnline
      [email protected]

      Reply
    5. Melissa Peterman says

      October 19, 2009 at 6:30 pm

      Hello Isabelle,

      We've selected you as our Foodista Food Blog of the Day for this Sunday, October 25th! Your blog for Lamb Stuffed Baby Eggplants will be featured on the Foodista homepage for 24 hours. This is a new feature that we recently launched and are thrilled to post your blog.

      Since you are now a part of the Foodista Featured Blogger of The Day Community, we've created a special badge for you to display proudly on your blog sidebar. I couldn't find your email on your blog to send you the access code for the special badge, but I want to make sure you get it if you are interested. Please send me an email and I'll send it right away.
      We are really enjoying your blog and look forward to seeing your recipes, tips and techniques on Foodista!

      Cheers,

      Melissa Peterman

      [email protected]
      Editor and Community Developer
      206.818.5724
      http://www.foodista.com
      Foodista- The Cooking Encyclopedia everyone can edit!

      Reply
    6. Anonymous says

      October 16, 2009 at 2:53 pm

      This looks very like Papoutsakia (Baked Eggplant "Little Shoes"
      https://www.fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=185195
      Luisa Calif

      Reply
    7. [email protected] says

      October 16, 2009 at 12:44 pm

      Next time I see some eggplants,I'm making one of these!I came across your blog from the foodieblogroll and I like the recipes you have shared here. I'd love to guide our readers to your site if you won't mind.Just add your choice of foodista widget to this post and it's all set, Thanks!

      Reply
    8. MaryMoh says

      October 15, 2009 at 11:13 pm

      looks pretty & delicious.

      Reply

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    Hello! I'm Isabelle, and this is my blog. I'm a 40-something coffee-chugging, booty-shaking, bargain-shopping, trucker-swearing self-taught cook with a major addiction to vintage cookbooks. Come for the recipes, stay for the terrible puns! Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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