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Ingredient: Eggplant

The deep purple hue and voluptuous shape of eggplant put it in the upper echelons of truly gorgeous produce. Of course, this time of year, there’s plenty of competition everywhere you turn at the farmer’s market. But purple is the color of royalty, and the Lebanese bow down to the eggplant accordingly, making it the crowned prince of many succulent dishes.

Eggplant seems to beg to be charred, taking on a cloak of smokey flavor readily. Perhaps the most well-known Middle Eastern dish using charred eggplant is babaganouj, a silky, smokey dip that pairs perfectly with fresh vegetables, bruschetta, or pita chips.

A showstopper of a meal is a baked Lebanese eggplant dish with tomato, ground beef or lamb, and buttery pine nuts. I can’t wait for you to try this Sheik al Mehshee (eggplant “fit for a king”), and swoon. So go get your eggplant at the farm market as soon as you can. They are splendid right now. Larger eggplant is good for babaganouj. I go for smaller, narrower ones otherwise. There are fewer seeds, which equates to better flavor.

Coming up this week: a story, techniques, recipes, and photos for Sheik al Mehshee.

5 Comments

  1. Rina Thoma on August 16, 2011 at 5:22 AM

    Can’t wait to get my hands on those recipes!!!!!!! They sound delicious!!!!!!!

  2. Anne on February 17, 2017 at 6:18 PM

    Maureen, I have been looking for an eggplant recipe from one of my favorite restaurants. The eggplant is cooked in pomegranate mollasses, but I don’t know what else is in it. Can you help me?

    • Maureen Abood on February 21, 2017 at 11:28 AM

      Hi Anne–hmmm. I have a recipe for roasted eggplant glazed with pomegranate molasses in my cookbook–this isn’t traditional though, it’s my own. Yours sounds more like a stew. I’ll keep looking and thinking, and maybe others will chime in if they know it too!

  3. Regina Khourie on January 11, 2020 at 12:41 PM

    would like a recipe for eggplant and lean instead of tomato sauce

    • Maureen Abood on January 11, 2020 at 12:55 PM

      Are talking about sheik al mehsheh? It’s here.

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Maureen Abood in the kitchen

I'm so glad you're here! You'll find among these pages the fresh and classic Lebanese recipes we can't get enough of! My mission is to share my tried + true recipes -- and to help our Lebanese food-loving community keep these culinary traditions alive and on the table. What recipes are you looking for? Let me know!

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