Karni Yarik (p. 311)

Karni Yarik is Turkish Eggplant Stuffed with Meat and Rice and, although neither myself nor Matt are huge eggplant lovers, I gave it a whirl last night.

The eggplants are cooked whole in the oven (be sure to prick them with a fork though, so they don't explode) until their skins have softened.

The stuffing for the dish is pretty simple; it's just onion, sweet pepper, and ground lamb, all sauteed in olive oil. The recipe also calls for tomatoes but I had forgotten to pick some up, so I left that part out. For spices, add cumin, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Stir in cooked rice as well as chopped parsley.

Once the eggplants are cooked, slice through the top half to be able to fill them with the stuffing, but be sure not to pierce the bottom of the eggplant!

Pour boiling water into the bottom of an oven-safe dish to surround the eggplants. Top them with cheese and place back in the oven until the tops are browned.

I enjoyed this -- the stuffing is great and very flavorful and made me not mind the eggplant. Matt avoided the eggplant but really enjoyed the lamb part as well. So, next time, maybe just the stuffing as a meal?

CSA eggplants -- $3.67

CSA red pepper -- $1.84 (half leftover)

onion -- $.94 (half leftover)

lamb -- $3.43

parsley -- $1.69 (lots remaining)

Total Cost of Karni Yarik: $11.57

($5.79 per serving)