Sibyl Smirl wrote
Please, David, in case you missed my post of yesterday or the day before, some Lebanese recipes, especially for stuffed eggplant if you have one.

Here is the way my Sitti used to make eggplant, and my mother today...

SHEIK EL MAHSHI (EGGPLANT CASSEROLE)
Printer version of this recipe

1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup butter
1 lb ground beef or lamb
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1 lg. chopped onion

3 lg. eggplants
4 Tbsp. butter
3 cups tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. dry mint
water

METHOD
1.Peel eggplants, cut stems off. Slice into 1/2 - 3/4 inch circles and set on cookie sheets. Sprinkle salt all over to "sweat them." This softens them. Set aside while you prepare the filling.

2. Sauté pine nuts with 2 Tbsp. butter until golden. Add meat, salt, pepper and cinnamon, stir well. Add onion and saute until onions are limp and meat is brown.

3.Squeeze water out of eggplant slices and place in frying pan with 4 Tbsp. butter, browning them. Remove and place a layer on bottom of 11"X15" baking pan.

4.Spread meat mixture over eggplant slices. Place remaining eggplant slices on top of meat.

5.Pour tomato sauce over all, adding water to just below top of eggplant.

6.Sprinkle mint over top. Cover and bake 1 hour at 350 F.

7.Serve from pan or gently remove with a lifter onto a platter.

8.Serve on top of Lebanese Rice.