Aubergine rolls stuffed with couscous, mince, pine nuts and sour cherries

Ooops... I almost wrote "mice" instead of mince... of course no mice in my food, I am not called Ronald after all, am I? So this is another one of those dishes that will possibly provoke some controversy... I may not be a complete stranger to Middle Eastern cuisine, I have spent the last year slowly immersing myself into the dishes, ingredients, restaurants of the region - but at the same time, it's a really broad church and inevitably, as I get used to ingredients that don't pertain to my culinary heritage, I am bound to create some sort of fusion cuisine... authentic? Maybe not. Wrong? I don't think so. I hope you can forgive me and embrace this dish with the same, heart-warming ignorance that I have!

So I have been playing with Middle Eastern food stuff for the last 12 months - and that's BEFORE I even made the trek to the Iraqi shop in Kingston Vale! If there is one culinary prediction I have for 2010 in London, it would be that we're being invaded by Middle Eastern cuisine! Not a month goes by without another Lebanese restaurant, deli or cafe to open and the ingredients belonging to this type of kitchen also have become more widely available. The pomegranate molasses I spent months finding (and eventually got fom my Iraqi friend) is now easily obtainable from Sainsbury's. The day when they stock something because it features in one of MY recipes, not Jamie Oliver's or Delia Smith's, will be a happy day and possibly the end of the world as I know it. (not a new year's resolution, this!)

How I came up with this dish? Hhmm? Ask me something a little easier, ok? I remembered aubergine rolls of some sort and format when I trawled through a bunch of old photographs today and came across the wonderful Arabic Feast my friend Dabia laid out for us last year. I had a picture only and couldn't for the life of me remember what it was (sorry Dabia, there were just too many delicious things you made for us...) I guessed it was a combination of mince and stodge and decided to go for beef mince (rump steak) and barley couscous. A fair amount of onions and garlic (which feature in all of my recipes, desserts - mostly - excluded) and then, there comes the more exotoc bit, sour cherries and pine kernels and a generous amount of pomegranate molasses to which I have become addicted.

Not your average mince stuffing, but wonderfully fruity, the molasses are bursting with flavour, sweetening and slightly sour at the same time, you might think it a strange combination, but I have tried this on the most conservative of palates and they loved it, so you're quite safe!

Also, before I forget, there's a wonderful book that's just come out - if you enjoy to read about global food and search out the best dishes or ingredients to be had on any given continent, this might be for you. It's National Geographic's "Food Journey's of a Lifetime - 500 extraordinary places to eat around the globe", featuring articles from yours truly! It's been out for a month and already re-printing... an excellent browse, you know you want it!

Aubergine rolls stuffed with couscous, mince, pine nuts and sour cherries
(serves 4 as a lunch or starter)

160g (traditional Morroccan barley) couscous
2 large aubergines
150 g beef mince (I mince rump steak)*
1 tbsp ghee (or butter)
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1 tbsp 5-spice mix** (see below)
40 g pine kernels
30 g dried sour cherries (chopped)
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

For the sauce:
400g-tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
4 sprigs thyme (leaves only)

First, prepare the couscous to packet instructions (there are various types of couscous, mine needed 200 ml of boiling water poured over and left to stand for 4 minutes).

Pre-heat the grill. (If you don't have one, you could also fry the aubergines in oil.)
Slice the aubergines into 1 cm slices. Place on a non-stick baking mat, brush with a little olive oil and salt lightly. Place under the hot grill and leave for about 8 minutes, until starting to char a little. Reserve.

For the filling, heat the ghee (of butter) in a frying pan, fry the onions and garlic until translucent, then add the meat and cook until browning. Add the spice mix, salt and pepper to taste. Take off the heat, combine with the couscous, pine kernels and sour cherries.

Carefully wrap about 1 tbsp full of the mixture into each aubergine slice and place, seam down, in a buttered casserole dish. If you feel like it, you could tie them with chives, but I am far too lazy to engage in such activities!

For the sauce, place all ingredients in a frying pan, cook until reduced by half and thickened. Pour sauce over the aubergine rolls and place the casserole in the oven at 200 C for twenty minutes.

Serve the rolls with a salad and some bread on the side, if you want.

* TX drop 3 cm dice onto running blades at speed 6. Turn off immediately after last piece has fallen in.

** You can use a regular fice-spice mix, often used in Chinese cooking but widely available in supermarkets. I have my own, based on a recipe by Skye Gyngell - if you fancy making your own, this is a doddle to make and a good present for foodie friends as well!!!

2 cinnamon sticks
70 g coriander seeds
70 g fennel seeds
70 g cumin seeds
70 caraway seeds
70 g mustard seeds
7 cardamom pods

Dry-roast in a pan until hot and fragrant - the popping mustard seeds will indicate when it's enough. Transfer to a food processor, grind very finely and leave to cool before transferring into sterilised jars.
This spice mix is excellent for casseroles, especially when a rich tomato sauce is called for, as well as for stir fries.

Comments

[bellini valli]

This dish sounds amazinf Johanna, and also FYI..one of ouwn Jeanne of Cooksister did a writeup in the cookbook you mention...isn't that cool:D

[Baking Soda]

Wonderful combination of flavours! The kids love their couscous and maybe that will let them ignore the aubergine part..

[Jeanne @ Cooksister!]

Oooh, that looks divine! And I have always loved the combination of fruit/meat, so these babies have my name all over them!

[Kat]

Hehe, a mouse would fit nice and snug in that roll though, wouldn't it. But the dish sounds so good, I'm kind of limited as it comes to my use of eggplant, so this definitely gets bookmarked :)