Meet my latest obsession – Arayes! Pita pockets stuffed with seasoned meat kofta filling, then pan fried until crispy. Think: Lebanese quesadillas / easy gozleme. Enjoy for dinner or pass them around as an appetiser. I can’t stop eating these! Arayes – Lebanese street food! Every now and then I happen across a recipe that... Get the Recipe
The post Arayes – Lebanese Meat-Stuffed Crispy Pita appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>Meet my latest obsession – Arayes! Pita pockets stuffed with seasoned meat kofta filling, then pan fried until crispy. Think: Lebanese quesadillas / easy gozleme. Enjoy for dinner or pass them around as an appetiser. I can’t stop eating these!
Arayes – Lebanese street food!
Every now and then I happen across a recipe that really catches me by surprise. Something I’ve never heard of before that’s devilishly tasty, a little different to the usual yet easy and relatively fast to make.
Today’s Arayes is one such recipe, introduced to me by Chef JB, discovered during his globe trotting days.
Originating from the Middle East, Arayes is a pita or flatbread that’s stuffed with raw seasoned meat kofta filling then pan fried, grilled or baked until crispy. Think of it like quesadillas – but with Middle Eastern spiced filling – or an easier version of lamb gozleme.
As with many traditional recipes, there are variations between countries, including the seasoning in the meat, the type of bread used, thickness of meat etc. The Arayes I’m sharing today is a Lebanese one. It’s easy. You can get all the ingredients at any grocery store.
And it’s Outrageously Delicious. (You know I’m deadly serious when I capitalise!)
Ingredients in Arayes
Here’s what you need to make Arayes.
Spiced kofta filling
Here’s what you need for the spiced kofta filling used to stuff the pita bread.
Protein – Lamb is a favoured protein in the Middle East and goes so well with the Lebanese spice mix we’re using today! However, beef is a very close second.
Spice mix – No unusual players here in this Lebanese kofta spice mix! There’s a fairly generous amount – almost 3 tablespoons – which sounds like a lot. This is because the meat is spread very thinly inside each pita bread so you actually don’t end up with very much with each bite. So you want it to be heavy on the spicing!
Spice note: Mild kick, only 1/2 tsp cayenne across 10 pita bread halves. To reduce to subtle, cut down cayenne to 1/4 tsp. Or omit.
Onion and fresh garlic – For aromatic flavour in the kofta filling.
Parsley – Optional for nice little bits of green throughout.
Pita bread and oil
Arayes is and can be made with all sorts of pita breads – large, small, thin, thick. Have fun and experiment!
Pita Bread – The pita bread I use is 15cm / 6″ wide. You need pita bread pockets that can be split open to stuff the meat inside. Thinner is better as it’s easier to cook the meat through. Fellow Aussies – I use Nana brand pita bread from Woolies, Coles.
Alternatives/variations – I’ve made this with the breadier, thicker pita bread pockets too (like used in this recipe) and it works great, just takes a minute or two longer for the meat to cook. Large Lebanese bread ~30cm/12″ wide also works! You need 2 to 3, spread the meat inside using a butter knife, pan fry until crisp then cut into pieces. And if you can’t find any pita pockets at all, you could even make Arayes using any flatbreads you can get your hands on, or even tortillas! Just make them like quesadillas – spread the meat filling on half then fold over.
Olive oil spray works best for cooking, I found. Using oil in the pan makes the pita pockets a little too greasy. If you don’t have spray, just brush the surface with olive oil.
How to make Arayes
A unique step in making Arayes is that the meat is raw when stuffed inside the pita bread. So as it cooks, the meat juices flavour the inside of the pita bread while the outside goes golden and crispy. It’s sooooo good!!
Grate the onion using a standard box grater. Why grate rather than chop? Because grated is finer than chopped so you don’t need to cook the onion separately before mixing into the meat. It will cook enough with the meat. Plus, the onion juices make the meat mixture even tastier!
Filling – Add the meat and all the other filling ingredients, then mix well with your hands.
Semi-circle shape – Divide into 10 portions, roll into a ball then pat into a thin semi-circle shape approximating the size of half a pita bread.
Stuff the meat inside the pita bread. PRO TIP: If you have trouble prying the pocket open, microwave for 15 seconds on high to soften then run a butter knife inside the slit.
Flatten – Close the pita bread then press down and out to spread the meat to the edges of the pita bread. Though – no need to be too meticulous here! You just don’t want giant areas of meat-less pita bread.
Spray each side with oil. I prefer spraying because I found using oil in the pan makes the Arayes too greasy. Plus, you use far less oil!
Pan fry 4 min – Then pan fry on medium high for 2 minutes on each side until crispy. The meat will cook through in this time because it’s so thin! I do 2 or 3 halves at a time. Cook as many as you can fit in a single layer.
Keep cooked Arayes warm in a low oven on a rack set over a tray (rack prevents underside from getting soggy) as you continue cooking. Or – get 2 pans going to speed things up!
Serving – Pile Arayes onto a platter and serve with Tahini dipping sauce. Serve them whole, as they are. Or cut them into smaller pieces – it’s up to you!
Whipped Tahini Yogurt Dipping Sauce
I think you’ll really like the Whipped Tahini Yogurt dipping sauce too. It’s got a unique texture almost like soft whipped cream. Made with just tahini, yogurt, lemon and garlic, the trick is to warm the mixture in the microwave slightly before whisking. Then as you whisk it, it becomes almost a bit aerated like whipped cream! Neat little trick I picked up from a Fatteh recipe by Nigella Lawson.
If you’ve got any of the sauce leftover, use it as a dip or slather onto toast like you would with goats cheese, then pile on marinated mushrooms or roast vegetables for a delicious crostini. Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Crispy Lebanese Meat Stuffed Pita – Arayes
The unique method here is that it's cooked with raw meat inside, so the tasty meat juices soaks into and flavours the pita bread as it cooks. It's outrageously delicious. I bet you become as obsessed with these as I have!Ingredients
- 5 pita bread , the thin pocket type, ~15cm/6" diameter (250g/8oz pack), cut in half (Note 1)
- Olive oil spray (or brush with olive oil)
Spiced meat filling:
- 1/2 brown onion
- 500g/ 1 lb lamb or beef mince (ground meat) (Note 2)
- 2 garlic cloves , finely grated
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley , optional
- 3 tsp ground coriander
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (sub plain paprika)
- 3/4 tsp ground allspice (sub mixed spice)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (reduce/omit for less spicy – Note 4)
- 1 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
Whipped tahini yogurt sauce:
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 2 tbsp tahini (or Chinese sesame paste – Note 5)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove , finely grated
- 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
Instructions
Spiced meat filling:
- Grate the onion in a bowl using a standard box grater. We want the juices and all! (Note 4)
- Meat filling – Add remaining meat filling ingredients. Mix well with your hands.
- Divide stuffing in 10 (about 55 to 60g per portion, 1/4 cup). Flatten into a semi-circle shape slightly smaller than the pita bread half.
- Stuff – Gently open a pita then place the meat inside. Close, then press to spread to the edge and make it fairly evenly flat. (Is your pita tearing? See Note 5 for tip!)
Cooking Arayes:
- Preheat oven to 50C/120F. Place a rack on a tray. (To keep cooked Arayes warm.)
- Cook – Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Spray both sides of the pita with olive oil then place 2 or 3 pieces in the pan (whatever you can fit). Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, pressing down lightly with a spatula, until golden and crispy. The meat is spread so thin it cooks really quickly! {Sandwich press – Note 7}
- Keep warm – Transfer cooked Arayes onto the rack and put in the oven to keep warm. Cook remaining pita.
- Serve – Cut in half if desired (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't!). Pile Arayes onto a serving platter. Serve with Whipped Tahini sauce. Enjoy!
Whipped tahini sauce:
- Place ingredients in a heatproof bowl and whisk to combine. Microwave for 15 seconds on high. Whisk again – it should resemble soft whipped cream. Use slightly warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Large Lebanese bread ~30cm/12″ wide also works! You need 2 to 3, spread the meat inside using a butter knife, pan fry until crisp then cut into pieces.
- Tortillas or other flatbreads – Smear meat on half, fold over like a quesadilla and cook!
Nutrition for one piece (ie half a pita).Nutrition
Similar crispy breads with tasty things inside
Life of Dozer
This dog really will eat anything. (Well, except kale! 😂)
The post Arayes – Lebanese Meat-Stuffed Crispy Pita appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>
Here’s a great beef mince recipe for you that’s quick to make, economical and full of hidden vegetables so it’s a complete meal – Beef Chow Mein! It’s the beef version of everybody’s favourite Chicken Chow Mein, made with the convenience of ground beef. Beef chow mein Here’s something new to try with that packet of... Get the Recipe
The post Beef chow mein – great mince/ground beef recipe! appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>Here’s a great beef mince recipe for you that’s quick to make, economical and full of hidden vegetables so it’s a complete meal – Beef Chow Mein! It’s the beef version of everybody’s favourite Chicken Chow Mein, made with the convenience of ground beef.
Beef chow mein
Here’s something new to try with that packet of beef mince you throw into your shopping cart every week! The beef is stir fried with chow mein sauce until it’s beautifully caramelised then tossed in a tangle of noodles and vegetables.
A neat trick in today’s recipe is to scramble up an egg with the beef. It makes the beef bits stick to the noodles better, with the added bonus of upping the protein.
Another bonus: chow mein actually has a vast amount of noodle-shaped vegetables hidden in the noodles. A carrot, 2 heaped cups of cabbage and a heaped cup of bean sprouts. That’s a good veg serving for a meal!
What you need
Here’s what you need to make this:
Noodles & add-ins
Noodles – Chow mein noodles are sort of dry and crinkly, rather than oily and straight like hokkien noodles, lo mein noodles. But this dish can really be made with any noodles – or even spaghetti (yes really, who’s going to know once tossed in chow mein sauce??). Use the same weight.
Garlic – Rarely do Asian stir fries happen without garlic, and this one is no exception!
Beef mince – That’s ground beef to Americans. Any fat % is fine here though lean beef won’t caramelise quite as well.
Other proteins – Any other mince will work just fine here. Chicken, pork, turkey, even lamb! Though bear in mind the sauce is quite intense flavoured to suit the beefy flavour of beef, so you won’t taste the flavour of white meats through the sauce.
Egg – We use this to scramble into the beef. Neat trick to make the beef stick to the noodles better with the added bonus of a free protein boost!
Green cabbage – Or Chinese cabbage. Finely sliced so it disappears into the tangle of noodles.
Bean sprouts – Excellent grab-and-throw-in vegetable option! STORAGE TIP: Keep bean sprouts in water in an airtight container. Change the water every couple of days. This will increase the shelf life of beansprouts 3x.
Carrot – Cut into thin batons. More noodle shaped vegetables so it all jumbles up together!
Green onion – We use 3 whole stems here. They are the onion in this dish, as well as some fresh green colour.
Chow Mein Sauce
The combination of sauces used in Chow Mein is common in Chinese dishes.
Soy sauces – We’re using both light and dark soy sauce in this recipe. What’s the difference? Dark soy stains the noodles a lovely warm mahogany colour as well as adding soy flavour. Light soy sauce provides the salt without overwhelming with soy flavour, and does not stain the rice.
Substitutions -You can use only light soy sauce or just an all-purpose soy sauce (ie bottle just labelled “soy sauce” without “light” or “dark” in front of it) instead of dark soy sauce. But you cannot use only dark soy sauce as the flavour is too strong! More on different types of soy sauces here.
Oyster sauce – A load of flavour, all in one sauce! It’s sweet and savoury and adds a neat flavour shortcut in dishes. Makes a regular appearance in Asian dishes, from Pad See Ew to Asian Glazed Salmon to Honey Pepper Beef to Supreme Soy Noodles. And Steamed Asian Greens with Oyster Sauce!
Vegetarian oyster sauce is available these days, at Asian stores and some large grocery stores (Australia – there’s Ayam vegetarian oyster sauce at Woolies). Otherwise, hoisin is a good alternative. Slightly different flavour profile (hint of Chinese five spice) but similar savoury / sweetness.
Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant tasting” Chinese dishes. Without it, the dish will be lacking something. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry.
Non alcoholic sub – sub both the cooking wine and water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.
Cornflour / cornstarch (left out of photo – oops!) – For thickening the sauce so it clings to the noodles. It also makes the sauce lovely and glossy.
White pepper and sugar – For seasoning.
How to make Beef Chow Mein
Be sure to cook the beef well once you add the sauce to get it really nicely caramelised, for a free flavour boost!
1. Sauce & thickener
Sauce – Mix the soy sauces, oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine, sugar and pepper in a small bowl. We’re going to use some to flavour the beef, then we will mix the rest with the sauce thickener (next step) to make the noodle sauce.
Sauce thickener (cornflour slurry) – Mix the cornflour / cornstarch and water in a separate small bowl. This is what thickens the sauce so it coats the noodles, as well as making it shiny and glossy.
2. Making the stir fried noodles
Prepare the noodles per the packet directions then drain. I usually get the water boiling while I’m prepping the vegetables then cook the noodles when I start cooking. The chow mein noodles I get just call for soaking in hot water for 3 minutes. Some brands need to be boiled.
Caramelise beef – Using a large non-stick pan, cook the garlic first to flavour the oil. Then cook the beef, breaking it up as you go, until you can no longer see raw beef.
Then add the white part of the green onions and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the Sauce. We add the white part of the green onions first as it takes longer than the green part. Cook for another 2 minutes to get the beef nicely caramelised.
Finish sauce – Meanwhile, mix the cornflour slurry into the remaining sauce.
Scramble egg – Add the egg into the pan then mix it through the beef, it will sort of scramble into the mixture. This is what makes beef stick to the noodles better!
Keep cooking! – When the egg is mostly cooked, add the carrot and cabbage. Cook for 1 minute until cabbage starts to wilt.
Sauce & noodles – Give the sauce a quick mix. Add the bean sprouts, noodles and sauce into the pan. Toss well for 1 minute or until sauce is dispersed through the noodles. Add green part of green onions. Toss for another 1 minute, then serve!
So there you go! Stir fried noodles for dinner, relatively low effort and quick to make. Great way to get a noodle fix, very economical, and highly versatile – switch out the vegetables and proteins with what you’ve got or what you love.
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Beef Chow Mein – great beef mince noodle recipe!
Ingredients
Chow Mein:
- 200g/ 7 oz chow mein noodles , or other thin yellow egg noodles or 3 ramen cakes (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 200g/ 7 oz beef mince / ground beef (any fat %)
- 3 green onion stems , cut into 5cm/2″ lengths, white and green parts separated
- 1 egg
- 2 cups green cabbage , finely sliced (or Chinese cabbage)
- 1 carrot , peeled, cut into thin batons
- 1 heaped cups bean sprouts (~ 75g / 2 1/2 oz) (Note 5 – storage tip)
Chow Mein Sauce:
- 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce or all-purpose soy sauce (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing) (Note 4)
- 1 1/2 tsp white sugar
- Pinch white pepper
Sauce thickener:
- 1 1/2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water
Instructions
- Sauce – Mix ingredients in a small bowl then set aside. Some is used to flavour the beef, then the rest for the noodles.
- Sauce thickener (cornflour slurry) – Mix the cornflour / cornstarch and water in a separate small bowl.
- Prepare noodles per packet directions then drain.
- Cook beef – Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over high heat. Cook garlic for 10 seconds, then add the beef and cook until you can no longer see pink. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the Sauce and the white part of the green onions. Cook for another 2 minutes to get the beef nicely caramelised.
- Finish sauce – Mix the cornflour slurry into the remaining sauce.
- Egg – Add the egg into the pan then mix it through the beef, it will sort of scramble. Egg makes the beef stick to the noodles better!
- Cabbage & carrot – When the egg is mostly cooked, add the carrot and cabbage. Cook for 1 minute until cabbage starts to wilt.
- Sauce & noodles – Give the sauce a quick mix. Add the bean sprouts, noodles and sauce into the pan. Toss well for 1 minute or until sauce is dispersed through the noodles. Add green part of green onions. Toss for another 1 minute.
- Serve – Divide between bowls and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
My noodle life
Life of Dozer
Visited our old stomping ground on the weekend – Bayview dog beach! Plenty of Dozer smiles that morning. 🥰
The post Beef chow mein – great mince/ground beef recipe! appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>
Try this irresistible, simple recipe for stuffed eggplant: oven-roasted eggplant halves topped with Moroccan spiced lamb or beef. Low-cal, low-carb, low effort and utterly delicious! Moroccan stuffed eggplant You’ll often hear me declaring quite passionately that I think eggplant is one of the most underrated vegetables around. They’re cheap. They’re meaty. And they’re fabulously versatile,... Get the Recipe
The post Easy Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant (beef or lamb) appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>Try this irresistible, simple recipe for stuffed eggplant: oven-roasted eggplant halves topped with Moroccan spiced lamb or beef. Low-cal, low-carb, low effort and utterly delicious!
Moroccan stuffed eggplant
You’ll often hear me declaring quite passionately that I think eggplant is one of the most underrated vegetables around. They’re cheap. They’re meaty. And they’re fabulously versatile, used in cuisines worldwide like Asian, Italian, Greek and Indian, prepared through various cooking methods including frying, steaming, roasting and simmering.
Today, we’re smearing, roasting and stuffing. Well, topping, not scooping-and-stuffing, in a manner that gives it a semi-stuffed vibe. Think of this as a mid-week take on traditional stuffed eggplant dishes you find in Arabic cuisine that involves hollowing out eggplants, stuffing with rice, meat, herbs and nuts, often baked in a tomato sauce. Sounds magnificent, doesn’t it? And it is. but there’s a lot more pots and pans involved! We’re going simple today. You can make this tonight, after work!!
Nice close up of said soft juicy eggplant!
Ingredients in Moroccan stuffed eggplant
The base flavouring for this Moroccan stuffed eggplant is a homemade Chermoula spice mix which does double duty as the spice paste for the eggplant as well as flavouring the meat filling.
Chermoula spice mix
Chermoula is a North African spice mix that traditionally is a marinade or sauce containing fresh coriander, garlic and spices. Sometimes you can also find it in a dry spice mix form. We’re using the dry blend today for our purposes.
The spices – The majority of the spices are pantry staples, but don’t make a special trip out if you’re missing one or two…or even three! There’s enough in the blend that you can substitute with something else – suggestions are in the recipe notes.
Olive oil and lemon juice – These are used to make the paste. I like to use lemon juice to add a bit of tang as well as cutting down on the oil required to make a smear-able paste.
The meat filling (lamb or beef)
Here’s what you need to make the meat filling. You can use lamb or beef, though if I had my pick I’d choose lamb as it’s a classic pairing with flavours from the Arab world.
3 teaspoons of the Chermoula spice blend is used to flavour the filling. In addition to this, we have garlic and onion for aromatics, and a little tomato paste to bind the filling together.
The eggplant
Choose eggplants around 250g/8oz and 17cm/7″ long. Don’t worry about exact size – adjust toppings accordingly. If you end up with larger eggplants, the topping layer might be slightly thinner, but the dish will still be packed with flavor.
Salt helps remove moisture from eggplants. More on this below!
Toppings
And lastly, the toppings! It really finishes this dish so I urge you to use them. The pine nuts are a great finishing touch, though other nuts will make an adequate substitute (almonds, macadamia, walnuts, or seeds).
If you’re anti-coriander/cilantro, switch with parsley!
How to make Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant
As mentioned above, I call it stuffed because describing it as a “topped” eggplant just doesn’t seem to capture the essence of this dish. 😂 But actually, it’s not properly stuffed – which means no scooping necessary, which means it’s easier to make. Win!
Sweating the eggplant (recommended)
Sweating the eggplant to remove excess water is a recommended but not essential step. It seasons the flesh as well as drawing out excess water that otherwise pools in the eggplant which dilutes flavour when you’re eating it.
But you can mostly get around this problem by simply cutting slits in the skin to let the water escape as it roasts. So don’t sweat it if you don’t have time to sweat it! *Sorry, I couldn’t resist!*
Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise. Keep the cap/stem intact and cut through it, it helps hold the eggplant together once roasted and soft.
Diamonds – Using a small sharp knife, cut 2.5cm/1″ diamonds into the flesh, cutting down as far as you are comfortable without piercing the flesh.
The said diamonds!
Salt – Sprinkle the surface with salt and rub it in. It’s good to get it into the slits but even if you just rub the surface, the salt will make it’s way into the slits.
Sweat for 30 minutes. I put the eggplant upside down in a colander to allow the water to drip out.
Squeeze like sponge to remove the excess water then pat the surface dry.
Making the “stuffed” eggplant
Mix the Chermoula spice blend in a bowl. Measure out 3 teaspoons and set aside for the meat.
Paste – Add olive oil and lemon juice into the remaining chermoula and mix to form a paste.
Smear the paste onto the surface of the eggplant.
Roast for 45 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) or until the eggplant is softened. Sometimes it takes longer – don’t forget to check the edges.
Spiced meat – A quick cook! Sauté the garlic and onion, then cook the lamb with the reserved Chermoula spice blend. Finally, add the tomato paste and water to make the filling “juicy” (rather than dry and crumbly).
Assemble – Top the roasted eggplant with the lamb filling. Dollop on yogurt, sprinkle with pine nuts and coriander then dig in!
Matters of serving
Servings
This recipe is designed to serve:
2 people as a generous dinner with a small side salad;
4 as a meal with a starch (flatbread, couscous) and a substantial side (like Honey Cinnamon Pumpkin Lentil Salad, roast veg, chickpea salad); or
4 people as a generous starter.
Low carb, low calorie!
For the eggplant alone, it’s a mere 450 calories for a whole eggplant (ie 2 halves) with only 22 grams of carbs. To be honest, a serving of the eggplant alone makes for a satisfying meal – you have protein and vegetables covered! Though I do like to add something fresh on the side, even if it’s just some plain fresh cucumber and tomato.
So, it’s low calorie, low carb, simple to make and a something different to make with beef mince rather than the usual Spag Bol. What do you think?? Feel like giving this a go? I HOPE SO! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Easy Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant (beef or lamb)
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 2 x 250g/8oz eggplants (aubergines), ~17cm/7" long (Note 1)
- 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (or more oil)
Chermoula spice mix (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tsp EACH coriander, paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 3/4 tsp all spice powder
- 1/2 tsp EACH garlic powder, ginger, turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Spiced beef or Lamb topping
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove , finely minced
- 1/2 onion , finely chopped
- 250g / 8oz beef or lamb mince , lean if you can (chicken, turkey, pork also ok)
- 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 2 tsp tomato paste (Note 3)
- 1/4 cup water
To Serve
- Yoghurt , plain
- 2 tbsp coriander/cilantro leaves , roughly chopped (sub parsley)
- 2 tbsp pinenuts , toasted (Note 4)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
- Sweat eggplants (recommended, see Note 5 to skip) – Cut eggplants in half then score with 2.5cm / 1" diamonds. Rub surface with salt, getting some into the slits. Place face down in a colander and set aside for 30 minutes. Gently squeeze like a sponge to remove excess water, pat surface dry.
- Mix Chermoula spice mix ingredients in a bowl. Remove 3 teaspoons for the meat and set aside. Add olive oil and lemon juice into the remaining spice mix and mix into a paste.
- Roast eggplant – Place eggplant on baking tray. Slather spice mix onto the surface. Roast for 45 minutes until softened.
- Spiced topping – Heat oil in a non stick skillet over medium high heat. Cook onion and garlic for 1 minute. Turn heat up to high, add lamb/beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see red. Add reserved spices and salt, then cook for a further 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in water, cook for 1 minute until it's juicy but not watery.
- Assemble – Top eggplant with beef/lamb. Sprinkle over coriander, dollop with yogurt and pine nuts. Finish with an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, if desired!
Notes
- All spice – mixed spice
- Garlic powder – onion powder, or fresh garlic
- Ginger – more garlic
- Turmeric powder – saffron
- Cinnamon – more all spice
Make ahead – Roast the eggplant and meat filling. Fully cool both, uncovered, then put into containers in the fridge. Re-warm both using method of choice (juice up the meat with a splash of water if needed) then assemble!
Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge. Not convinced cooked eggplant will freeze well but the meat will be fine for 3 months!
Nutrition per serving, using lean beef – 2 eggplant halves (i.e. one whole eggplant) per serving. This is a satisfying meal even by itself!Nutrition
Originally published in March 2016. Majority spruced up in 2023 with a better, more streamlined recipe with better flavour, sparkling new photos and a brand new recipe video!
Proof of eggplant fondness
Life of Dozer
Can’t even whiteboard recipe ideas without Mr D hovering around.
The post Easy Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant (beef or lamb) appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>
This is a GREAT beef mince recipe. Fried rice made with ground beef tossed in an intense savoury sauce, it’s got extra protein from egg and good amount of veg so it’s a complete dinner you can get on the table quickly. And seriously delicious (you’ll see me scoff it!). ➤ See all my ground... Get the Recipe
The post Beef fried rice appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>This is a GREAT beef mince recipe. Fried rice made with ground beef tossed in an intense savoury sauce, it’s got extra protein from egg and good amount of veg so it’s a complete dinner you can get on the table quickly. And seriously delicious (you’ll see me scoff it!).
➤ See all my ground beef / beef mince recipes here.
Beef fried rice
Have you ever thought to make fried rice with beef mince? It works beautifully! Fry up ground beef in an intense savoury sauce until it’s beautifully caramelised, then toss it through rice with fluffy bits of scrambled egg and vegetables of choice.
So quick to make – no chopping raw meat! And in my version, I’ve opted for even more convenience by making this with frozen diced veg. Because I totally buy into the whole snap-frozen thing.
But if you’re a better person than me, please do not let me stop you from chopping up fresh vegetables. Also, excellent fridge clean-out opportunity!
In case you doubt me – here’s proof of deliciousness, and how fast this is to cook! (Errr, yes, and classy moment dropping rice down my top 😂).
What you need
I like to use quite an intense flavoured savoury sauce to fry up the beef so the rice doesn’t taste too “beefy”. Which might sound contradictory, but is what I want with fried rice – a nice balance of all the flavours jumbled together rather than the beef flavour dominating.
Beef fried rice sauce
Soy sauces – We’re using both light and dark soy sauce in this recipe. What’s the difference? Dark soy stains the rice that deep mahogany colour as well as adding quite intense soy flavour. Light soy sauce provides the salt without overwhelming with soy flavour, and does not stain the rice.
Substitutions -You can use only light soy sauce or just an all-purpose soy sauce (ie bottle just labelled “soy sauce” without “light” or “dark” in front of it) but the rice colour won’t be as dark. But you cannot use only dark soy sauce as it will make the rice black and the soy flavour will be way too much! More on different types of soy sauces here.
Oyster sauce – A load of flavour, all in one sauce! It’s sweet and savoury and add is a neat flavour shortcut in dishes. Makes a regular appearance in Asian dishes, from Pad See Ew to Asian Glazed Salmon to Honey Pepper Beef to Supreme Soy Noodles. And Steamed Asian Greens with Oyster Sauce!
Vegetarian oyster sauce is available these days, at Asian stores and some large grocery stores (Australia – there’s Ayam vegetarian oyster sauce at Woolies)
Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant tasting” fried rice (and noodles and stir fries!). Without it, the dish will be lacking something.
Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry.
Non alcoholic sub – sub cooking wine with 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth/stock, expect to stir fry an extra minute to allow for evaporation. And (big tip) add a knob of butter at the end and toss through until melted.
White pepper and sugar – For seasoning. White pepper is commonly used in Asian dishes because you can’t see it in clear glossy sauces in stir fries, like cashew chicken, chop suey (chicken stir fry). Whereas if you use black pepper, you end up with little specks in the sauce.
Stuff in the fried rice
Don’t have day-old-cooked rice? Don’t try this recipe – you’ll be disappointed with gluey fried rice! Make Baked Fried Rice instead (starts with uncooked rice, and it’s awesome!). Use the beef to make Asian Beef and serve together.
Cooked rice – Any type of rice can be used but it needs to be day old so it’s dried out. So then when it’s fried up with sauce, the rice gets nicely moistened but is still fluffy and crumbly, rather than gluey and sticky.
TIP – Keep bags of cooked rice in your freezer. Super handy standby for stir fries, and fried rice on demand!
Beef mince – That’s ground beef, to Americans. I use lean in fried rice. Pork, chicken and turkey also work great in this recipe!
Frozen veg – I use frozen for convenience, in the spirit of this quick ‘n easy recipe. But please feel free to be a better person than me and chop up whatever vegetables you want!
Onion and garlic – Essential flavour base. We sauté it up first to flavour the oil.
Eggs – We scramble these in sesame oil for lovely flavour. I love fluffy egg bits in my fried rice, plus it’s extra protein!
Green onion – For freshness and colour. Though you won’t destroy this dish if you don’t have it.
How to make beef fried rice
Using beef mince is so handy for quick meals – no cutting or prep required!
Mix the sauce in a small bowl.
Scramble the eggs in a little sesame oil (love the flavour it adds!) then remove onto a plate. (BTW, this fried rice can be cooked in a large wok or a large non-stick pan).
Cook beef with sauce – Start by cooking the onion and garlic to get the oil nicely flavoured. Then cook the beef, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see raw meat. Then add 2 tablespoons of the sauce and cook for 2 minutes.
Caramelise beef – Add the frozen vegetables (still frozen is fine) then cook for a further 2 minutes to thaw and cook the vegetables, plus get the beef nicely caramelised. Caramelisation is key for good flavour here! It makes such a difference getting a nice “sear” on mince (case in point: Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls, Asian Beef Bowls, Spicy Firecracker Beef – and so on…).
Rice – Add rice and sauce, toss for a couple of minutes until the rice starts to caramelise too.
Toss through egg – Then finally, toss through green onion and scrambled egg then serve!
And there you have it! It really is a quick recipe. 12 minutes to cook up and minimal prep. It’s kid friendly but if you want to give it a fiery boost, a drizzle of sriracha or dollop of your favourite chilli paste certainly wouldn’t go astray.
Love to know if you give it a go! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Beef fried rice
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 1)
- 2 tsp light soy sauce (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp white sugar
- 1/8 tsp white pepper (sub black)
Scrambled eggs:
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 eggs , lightly whisked
Fried rice:
- 2 tbsp oil (peanut, veg, canola or other neutral oil)
- 1/2 onion , finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 250g / 8 oz beef mince / ground beef (I use lean, Note 4)
- 2 cups frozen diced carrots, peas, corn (still frozen fine!) (or fresh diced veg)
- 3 cups day-old cooked rice (1c uncooked rice = 3c cooked, Note 5)
- 1/2 cup finely sliced green onions (1-2 stems)
Instructions
- Mix Sauce ingredients in a small bowl, then set aside.
- Scramble eggs – Heat sesame oil in a large wok or non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add egg and cook, stirring gently, so it is softly scrambled. Remove onto a plate.
- Cook beef – Heat vegetable oil in the same pan over high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 30 seconds. Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, for 2 minutes or until you no longer see raw beef. Add 2 tablespoons of sauce and cook for 1 minute.
- Veg / caramelise beef – Add frozen vegetables and cook for 2 minutes or until the beef gets nicely caramelised – this is the trick to great flavour so do not shortcut this!
- Rice & sauce – Add rice and remaining sauce. Toss for 2 minutes until the sauce is well dispersed throughout the rice and the rice grains start to caramelise a bit.
- Egg & green onion – Then add scrambled eggs and green onion, give it a quick toss to disperse then divide between bowls. EAT!
Notes
* Dark soy sauce is labelled as such, provides colour and gives more flavour to the sauce than other soy sauces. Sold at Aussie grocery stores nowadays. Fallback: sub with more ordinary or light soy (below)
* Soy Sauce – ordinary all purpose soy sauce, they just say “soy sauce” on the label (eg. Kikkoman). Can also use Light soy sauce – bottle is labelled as such. 2. Oyster sauce – can be substituted with a vegan/vegetarian oyster sauce (see here for Ayam at Woolies, Australia). OR use hoisin instead – similar thickness and adds similar amount of flavour but has five spice flavour added. Different but similar levels of tastiness (if that makes sense!) 3. Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” fried rice. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic sub – sub cooking wine with 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth/stock, expect to stir fry an extra minute to allow for evaporation. And (big tip) add a knob of butter at the end and toss through until melted. 4. Meat – can sub pork, chicken, turkey mince 5. Rice – Needs to be day old rice so the rice is dry and the fried rice is crumbly. If it’s freshly cooked, the fried rice ends up sticky and gluey. Not good, my friends! TIP: Keep bags of cooked rice in your freezer. This is what I do. Handy to just reheat for stir fries (sprinkle of water makes it all steamy!) and it’s crumbly enough for fried rice. Win win! 6. Leftovers will keep for 2 days. Can be frozen – reheat in microwave with a sprinkle of water to moisten it up. Nutrition per serving assuming 4 servings.
Nutrition
Yet to meet a fried rice I don’t love!
Life of Dozer
When the wind slammed the door and he got trapped in the bathroom. I do NOT want to know why he was in there in the first place!
The post Beef fried rice appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>