Karniyarik (Turkish Stuffed Eggplant)

• 2 Eggplant
• 2 teaspoons Sea salt
• 1 pounds Ground beef
• 1 Onion (small, diced)
• 4 Tomatoes (if cutting eggplant lengthwise 3 coarsely chopped, 1 sliced; otherwise all chopped)
• 1 tablespoon Tomato paste
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
• 1 handful Parsley (fresh, chopped)
• 2 tablespoons Coconut oil (or ghee)
• 4 Green chile (i.e., serrano)

1. Fill a large bowl with water, stir in 2 tsp of salt, then add the sliced eggplants. Weigh the eggplants down with a plate to keep them submerged; soak for 30 minutes while you prep the filling.
2. Heat a skillet on medium heat for a minute, then add the ground beef. Saute until most of the pink is gone, stirring frequently to break up chunks, about 4 minutes.
3. Add the onions and continue to saute until the onions start to soften, about 4 more minutes.
4. Add the coarsely chopped tomatoes (be sure to reserve four tomato slices for later), tomato paste, garlic, and salt and pepper; simmer until the tomatoes are softened, another 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the chopped parsley, season to with more salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.
6. Remove the eggplants from the water, rinse, and pat dry. Season with a little salt and pepper.
7. In a large skillet, warm 2 tbsp ghee or coconut oil on med/high heat for a minute, the place the eggplant cut-side-down.
8. Cook in batches until browned, about 4 minutes, then set on paper towels to drain. You only need to brown the cut side of the eggplant.
9. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
10. Scoop out the seed part of each eggplant and set aside. You don't need to spoon out too much of the eggplant, just enough to make a divot to put the filling into.
11. Spoon in the filling then lay down half of a chili pepper and a tomato slice on each eggplant. It's okay if you have leftover filling - you can saute it in ghee or oil with the scooped out eggplant pieces to have something to snack on while the eggplants bake.
12. Bake until the eggplants are soft all the way through, 20-30 minutes, then rest for 5 minutes before serving.

eggplant, salt, ground beef, onion, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, salt, pepper, handful parsley, coconut oil, green chile

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/karniyarik-turkish-stuffed-eggplant-5a2b5ac949f7c631c109e24c (may not work)