Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
Serves 6
- 2 medium eggplants (aubergines)
- 3 medium potatoes
- 3 zucchini (courgettes)
For the mhamar filling
- 500 g (1.1 lb) ground beef (minced beef)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 5 heaping Tbsp breadcrumbs
- Chopped parsley
- Salt, pepper
For the sauce
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 heaping Tbsp tomato paste
- Olive oil
- 1 glass (200 ml) water
- Salt, pepper
Feel free to vary the vegetables to your taste; some people also make these with bell peppers.
- Wash the vegetables. Peel the potatoes. Peel the zucchini in alternating strips (they’ll hold their shape better). Cut them in half lengthwise, hollow them out with a spoon and put the scooped-out flesh in a large bowl.
- In that bowl, chop the vegetable flesh, then add the ground beef, the chopped onion and garlic (use a mini food processor if you have one), the chopped parsley and the beaten eggs. Season with salt and pepper.
- Arrange the hollowed-out vegetables in a lightly oiled baking dish (just enough so the vegetables don’t stick). Add a glass of water to the dish along with the sauce ingredients. Bake for 1 hour at 210°C (410°F) on the middle rack.
Serve warm with tomato sauce, or cold with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Tips
- The size of the vegetables gives you an idea of how many you can make with 500 g (1.1 lb) of ground beef; of course you can use more or less of each to your taste.
- For the filling, using a mini food processor to chop the onion, garlic and herbs gives you a nice, evenly blended mixture.
- You can add quartered hard-boiled eggs to the filling.
- For Passover, swap the breadcrumbs for matzo meal.
If you like stuffed dishes, you might also enjoy Yabrak, romaine lettuce stuffed with meat, another Passover tradition.