Once again a success with this ottolenghi recipe. I don’t remember in which article I said, that I discovered a new way of cooking, thanks to this excellent chef. Now I use his books all the time, “Jerusalem – with Sami Tamimi”, “Simple” and “Falastin” are my favorites ones. Since I discovered him, I have never been disappointed with any of his recipes.
The recipe may look complicated to make, don’t be fooled by appearances. It’s as easy and straightforward as preparing a dish of pasta with bolognese. Trust me, this stuffed aubergine is an easy recipe.
So how to make it ?
First roast the aubergines for 20 minutes, meanwhile make the stuffing. The lamb, onion and pine nuts are wonderfully flavoured with cinnamon, cumin, and paprika. Which match perfectly with this kind of meat.
Then the stuffed aubergines are braised in a sweet, sour, tangy sauce. Made with lemon juice, tamarind and little of sugar to balance everything, without forgetting the cinnamon which brings a little heat.
It may not look the prettiest dish, but it’s so delicious.
This recipe has a complexity in the taste. Between the spices used to flavor the meat and the sauce which has tangy flavour because it contains the tamarind.
What’s tamarind paste ? What does taste like? With what to substitute the tamarind paste?
The name of tamarind derives from Arabic تمر هندي tamr hindy, which means “Indian date”.
Is a leguminous tree. The tamarind tree produces brown pod-like fruit that contain a sweet, tangy pulp. Widely used as a flavouring in Asian, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines.
The tamarind tastes very sour, a citrusy taste with a note of sweetness. It’s thick, sticky paste, it has the same consistency as a molasses.
I think in this recipe, you can replace the tamarind paste with the pomegranate molasses or a good quality of balsamic vinegar.
No excuses to make this warming confort dish.
It has the right balance of meat to vegetable. The aubergine melts in the mouth, the meat is perfectly flavoured and the sauce makes all the difference.
