Stuffed Eggplant Deconstructed / Tembel Patlıcan Dolması

Writer's Note: In Damascus there is a street corner called Lazy Housewives' Corner. The grocers there have pre-cored eggplants for stuffing, shelled peas, and carrots cut into decorative sticks. It's a lazy chef's paradise. Also apparently a good place to pick up a hooker since I saw my one and only prostitution transaction on that street corner. I guess it's a good place to go if you're too lazy to even go through the hassle of getting a housewife.

Since Damascus is a bit far to travel, I'm stuck as my own sous chef. For days I have been wanting to make stuffed eggplants. I had all of the ingredients ready but the time never presented itself. Yesterday I got home from a long day and decided stuffing the eggplants was an unnecessary step better suited to housewives in Damascus. So here's Lazy Cantabrigians Stuffed Eggplant.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, diced

1/2 lb. ground beef

2-3 small eggplants, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

2-3 tbsp. pomegranate molasses

2 cups full-fat traditional yogurt

4-6 garlic cloves

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. Aleppo pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Optional: Aleppo pepper and dried mint

Optional: 1/4 cup pine nuts

Directions: Saute the onions in the olive oil over low-medium heat until they are translucent and soft. Add the pine nuts, ground beef, pomegranate molasses, cumin, 1 tsp. salt, and Aleppo pepper and saute until the beef is just cooked through. Add the eggplants and cook for 4-5 minutes until the eggplant is a little soft. Cover and lower heat and continue to cook until the eggplant is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Add the parsley and stir for an additional minute until it wilts. Turn off heat.

Make a paste from the garlic cloves and 1 tsp. salt using a mortar and pestle. Serve the eggplant dish with the garlic yogurt and sprinkle with the Aleppo pepper and dried mint if you desire.