Taste the best vegan flavors of Middle Eastern with this rice stuffed eggplant

Being vegan has become a trend in recent years. This lifestyle and diet is defined by the consumption of only plant-based foods. 

However, being vegan is not based on a simple decision to eat plant-based. It has born out of the desire and interest to take care of your health and establish an environmentally friendly diet. 

If you are taking the first steps to get to know this way of cooking and living, you have come to the right post.

Today, we have brought you a delicious recipe of tomato and rice stuffed eggplants or Sheikh Mahshi that will get your taste buds going. 

If you love to eat eggplants but you look for a new way to prepare a delicious meal with them, MinuteRice® has an amazing stuffed eggplant recipe for you. Visit https://minuterice.com/recipes/rice-stuffed-eggplant-parmesan/ and enjoy an alternative way to make this exquisite vegan meal. 

Eggplants: one of the most loved vegan ingredients

The eggplant is one of the edible summer vegetables. It’s the ripe fruit of Solanum melongena plants. This berry is about 2 to 12 inches long, cylindrical in shape, oblong or elongated in most cases. It’s smooth and has a shiny skin, and it can be found in different colors, being the most common ones purple or black when ripe, but there are also white, light purple, black, yellow, or mixed colors.

It is native to India, where it has been cultivated for more than 4000 years, and it is part of many traditional recipes in Europe and Asia such as alboronía in Spain, caponata in Italy or baba ganush in Arabian countries. 

Sheikh Mahshi recipe 

Ingredients 

• 1/2 cup of white basmati rice.
• 3 large eggplants.
• Kosher salt.
• 1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts.
• 2 cups of drained canned chickpeas.
• 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped fresh parsley.
• 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves.
• 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil.
• 1 peeled and minced brown onion.
• 48 oz. (3 cans) of diced fire roasted tomatoes.
• 4 minced and roasted garlic cloves.
• 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon.
• 1/4 tsp. of allspice.
• Juice of 2 fresh lemons.
• 2 tbsp. of tomato paste.
• Dash cayenne pepper.
• Salt and pepper.

Preparation mode 

1. Pour cold water and 1 teaspoon salt over rice; soak for 30 minutes before cooking.
2. Soak white rice in a bowl of water. Cut the stems off the eggplants and cut them lengthwise in two halves. Using a vegetable or melon baller, remove the center seeds and pulp from the eggplant halves, leaving a 1/2-inch wall around the outer edges. 
3. Sprinkle the eggplants with salt and leave them in a bowl for 30 minutes to avoid bitterness. Rinse them with water, pat dry and place them in a 9×13 baking dish. 
4. Toast the pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat and toss to mix until they turn golden brown. 
5. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Equip the food processor with metal blades. Chop the chickpeas, parsley and mint in the food processor until they get finely chopped but avoid them becoming blend or pasty. Put these ingredients in a bowl. 
6. Grease a skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sautée the onion until golden and caramelize. Place half of the onion in the mixing bowl and reserve the other half in the pan.
7. Drain the soaked rice, rinse and place in a bowl with toasted pine nuts, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, roasted garlic, parsley, cinnamon, allspice and the juice of 1 lemon. Mix the ingredients well with a fork, then season generously with salt and pepper. Taste the mixture and add more seasoning as needed.
8. Pour the filling into the eggplant halves (the filling will expand during cooking). Drizzle the stuffed eggplants on top with olive oil.
9. Add the remaining 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon, 2 tablespoons tomato concentrate and a pinch of paprika to the pot that has half of the cooked onions reserved. Stir the ingredients together and cook over medium heat until the sauce begins to bubble. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
10. Add the tomato puree to the pan. Pour the sauce over the stuffed eggplant halves. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Place the dish into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil from the pan and continue cooking for 15-30 minutes, until the eggplants are soft and the filling is tender. Serve hot.