How to Make a Middle Eastern lamb and Eggplant Casserole

Here is a recipe for a slow-cooked Middle Eastern meal. It takes about an hour to prepare the dish before it cooks for three or four hours longer. Make sure you have a very large platter on which the whole meal will be served along with plain yogurt as a garnish. This is a treat well worth the time and effort—follow these steps to prepare it.

Things You'll Need

• 1 boneless leg of lamb
• <br>1 head fresh garlic
• <br>1/2 cup olive oil
• <br>2 cups long grain white or brown rice
• <br>1 head cauliflower
• <br>1 eggplant
• <br>3 large onions
• <br>3 large tomatoes
• <br>1 tablespoon cinnamon
• <br>1 teaspoon cumin
• <br>1 teaspoon red pepper
• <br>1 cup plain yogurt
• <br>1 large roasting pan or the inside of a large crock pot with the lid to fit
• <br>1 large pot of water

Instructions

1. Remove the outer leaves from the head of cauliflower and place the head into a large pot. Fill the pot with water so that the entire vegetable is covered. Cook this until, when you pierce the core of the cauliflower with a fork, it is soft. Remove the cauliflower from the water and place it in a bowl to cool. When it is cool enough to handle, cut the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces and reserve for later.

2. Add four cups of the water left from cooking the cauliflower, to cover 2 cups of rice. Bring the rice to a boil. Turn the head down. Then simmer the rice for about 20 minutes or until the water has been absorbed by the rice and the rice is done. Turn the heat off. Reserve the cooked rice for later.

3. Cut up the raw boneless leg of lamb into bite-sized pieces. Saute the lamb in 2 tablespoons of olive oil into which you have pressed 4 cloves of garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of red pepper and about 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir the meat until it is evenly browned on the outside. Set it aside.

4. Peel the eggplant. Slice it into rounds that are about 1/8 inch thick. Pan fry each slice in olive oil into which another clove of garlic has been pressed. Do the same with the onions. Reserve both the cooked eggplant and the cooked onions for later.

5. Slice the tomatoes into paper-thin rounds. Set them aside for later.

6. Layer the ingredients into the roasting pan or crock in this order. First put in the meat with the cooking juices. On top of the meat add the cauliflower. Then cover the cauliflower with the slices of eggplant followed by the onions and then the tomatoes. Spoon all of the cooked rice over the top. Then put on the lid and place the roasting pan in an oven that has been preheated to 325 degrees. If you are using a crock pot, you can cook it on high in the crock pot itself or place the covered crock in the preheated 325 degree oven. Let it cook for at least three hours.

7. Turn the roasting pan or the crock pot upside down onto a very large serving platter with a lip to contain any juices. The rice will end up on the bottom and the savory meat will be on the top with all the vegetables in the middle. Serve this family style along with a dish of plain yogurt for a sauce. It serves six to eight people.