Eggplant with Rice and Minced Meat with Pomegranate

Ingredients

• 200 g Naturreis
• Salt
• 2 Eggplants
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Pepper
• 1 onion
• 300 g Minced meat (lean beef)
• 0.5 tsp ground cumin
• 0.5 tsp ground coriander
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 0.5 tsp Ras el-Hanout (Arabic spice paste)
• 1 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
• 150 g Yogurt (3.5% fat)
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 20 g Medjool dates (2 Medjool dates; pitted)
• 2 sprigs Mint
• 2 sprigs parsley
• 45 g Pomegranate seeds (3 tbsp)
• 30 g pine nuts (2 tbsp)
• chili powder

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cook rice in double the amount of boiling salted water for 30-40 minutes. While it cooks, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash and pat dry the eggplants, slice them diagonally into approximately 1 cm thick slices, and brush both sides with a total of 1 tbsp oil. Season with salt and pepper, place on the baking sheet, and bake in a preheated oven at 220 °C (fan 200 °C; Gas: Mark 4) for about 30 minutes.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile, peel and chop the onion. Heat the remaining oil in a pan. Sauté the onion for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the minced meat and cook for 6-8 minutes over medium heat until crumbly; it should brown slightly. Season the meat with the spices, salt, and pepper. Fry for another 1-2 minutes, stirring, then mix in the rice.

3. 3.

   Smooth together tahini, yogurt, and lemon juice and place in a small bowl. Arrange the rice and minced meat on a plate or board. Remove the eggplants from the oven, top with the rice and minced meat, and drizzle with a few dollops of yogurt sauce.

4. 4.

   Finely dice the dates. Wash, shake dry, and pluck the leaves from the mint and parsley.

5. 5.

   Sprinkle the dates, pomegranate seeds, and pine nuts over the rice and minced meat, sprinkle everything with chili powder and pepper, and serve garnished with mint and parsley. Serve the remaining yogurt sauce separately.