The real dish is “Stuffed eggplant with lamb & pine nuts” but I didn’t have lamb. Or pine nuts.
This is made with turkey, which was leftover from my wife making wontons. I took the asian seasoning and Mediterranean-ed it up by adding allspice, cinnamon, cumin, and sautéed onions. I also threw in some panko to make it crunchy.
This was the first time I went way the hell off script. I had no idea what I was really doing, but I went for it. I also didn’t roast these. I couldn’t use the oven, so I did it all in cast iron on the stove. It made the eggplants a little softer than normal.
For what it’s worth, this is a very sweet dish. Tamarind paste and tomato paste aren’t cloying, but it was surprising to me. I recommend you eat this with rice.
The rice here is basmati rice with sautéed onions and currants.
Source: Jerusalem, pg 116