EGGPLANTS STUFFED WITH MEAT AND RICE

Eggplants Stuffed with Meat and Rice image

Yield serves 6

Number Of Ingredients 5

12 small (3 1/2-4 1/2-inch) or 6 medium (6-inch) long and slim eggplants
Meat-and-rice filling (page 306)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lemon

Steps:

Cut off the stem ends of the eggplants and reserve. Soften the pulp by rolling them on the table and pressing them with the palm of your hand. Hollow them, using an apple corer or a special tool for hollowing vegetables (you find them in Arab markets). Insert the corer through the cut end and push it as far as possible, making sure that you don't break through the other end, and twisting it to loosen the pulp and pull it out. Repeat to make a reasonably large hole. (Use up the discarded flesh for another dish.)
Prepare the filling in a bowl, using raw rice.
Stuff the eggplant shells three-quarters full with the filling, to allow room for the rice to expand. Close them with the reserved "corks."
Put the oil in a large saucepan. Place the eggplants in it, packed close and in layers. Add enough water, mixed with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, barely to cover them. Cover with a lid, and cook over gentle heat for 40 minutes, or until the eggplants and the filling are tender. Remove the lid at the end so that the water, if any is left, evaporates.
Serve hot.