Stuffed Eggplant Skillet with Lamb
Dried eggplant, lamb, and paprika cooked down into one pot at camp instead of baked in a dish.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- 600 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried eggplant slices | 1 1/2 cups | salt fresh eggplant 30 minutes, rinse, dry, then dehydrate at home |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried ground lamb | 4 oz | cooked ground beef, dehydrated, works the same |
| Dried onion flakes | 3 tbsp | |
| Tomato powder | 3 tbsp | or 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped small |
| Dried green bell pepper | 1/4 cup | |
| Paprika | 1 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Instant rice | 1 cup | cooked separately or stirred in at the end |
Method
- Boil 600 ml of water. Pour about 400 ml over the eggplant, lamb, onion, tomato powder, and pepper in the pot. Let it sit off heat for ten minutes with the lid on.
- Return the pot to low heat. Stir in the paprika, black pepper, salt, and oil. Simmer ten minutes, stirring often so the tomato does not scorch on the bottom.
- Add the remaining water a splash at a time if it tightens up. You want it wet, not soupy.
- Stir in the instant rice, cover, and pull the pot off the heat for five minutes.
The original bakes lamb filling inside hollowed eggplant shells for half an hour. There is no oven on a trail, and no whole eggplant worth carrying, so this rebuilds the same flavors as a skillet stew. Dried eggplant slices rehydrate into something soft and a little creamy, which is most of what the shells were doing anyway.
The soak before the simmer matters. Eggplant is slow to take on water, and if you go straight to a boil you get leathery pieces in a thin sauce. Tomato powder and oil supply the moisture and richness that the pan juices provided in the baked version; the pepper flakes stay firm enough to give the pot some texture.
Packing
Eggplant, lamb, onion, tomato powder, and pepper go in one bag. Spices in a second small bag so you can taste and adjust. Oil in a leakproof bottle. Rice separate.
Variations
- Skip the rice and eat it straight from the pot with a spoon. Drops the weight by two ounces.
- A pinch of cumin and a squeeze of lemon powder pushes it further toward the Middle Eastern original.
https://www.awesomecuisine.com/recipes/6653/oven-baked-meat-stuffed-brinjals