I know I’ve said this before, but this may be the best recipe I’ve ever made on WJWE. And it’s not even covered in cheese or Nutella! The harvest festival of Sukkot is this week, so we stuff our faces with seasonal fruits, vegetables, soups and stews like in my Pumpkin Kale Stew. And stuffed foods like my favorite Cheesy Pumpkin Kale Stuffed Peppers as a symbol for a bountiful harvest. These Farro Stuffed Eggplants with Pickled Jalapeños and Tahini Yogurt Sauce have a little a little sephardic inspiration, and use one of my new favorite grains from my Bob’s Red Mill package o fun. Farro! This dish is a little sweet, a little spicy, a little nutty, and a whole lotta delicious.
I just got back from Seattle (I’ll share photos soon!) and had one of these in the freezer. It defrosted perfectly for an easy meal after my flight!
First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and make the farro according to the package. While it’s cooking, quick pickle the jalapeños. Combine water, vinegar, sugar, salt, and garlic in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then add in jalapeños and remove from heat. Let them cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Use a knife to cut around the edges leaving 1/3 inch of eggplant around the edge, careful not to cut through the skin. Use a spoon or melon baller to scoop out the eggplant flesh. Drizzle eggplant with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle salt and then place on a foil lined baking sheet flesh side up. Roast for 15 minutes.
While the eggplants are roasting, chop the scooped eggplant into small pieces. Heat remaining olive oil and add onions and a sprinkle of salt and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add eggplant and garlic and lower heat to medium. Cook 10 minutes more until eggplant is tender, then and turmeric, sumac, cinnamon and pepper and cumin and sauté for 2 more minutes. Stir into farro. Add almonds and dried cranberries. Scoop into roasted eggplants and roast for 15-20 more minutes until skin is soft and filling heated through.
While the eggplants are roasting, whisk together yogurt, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, water, salt and pepper to make tahini sauce.
Top eggplants with tahini sauce, pickled jalapeños and fresh mint. Enjoy!
Farro Stuffed Eggplants with Pickled Jalapeños and Tahini Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
- Pickled Jalapeños:
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 4 large jalapeño peppers sliced into rings
- Stuffed Eggplants:
- 1 1/4 cups cooked farro
- 2 baby eggplants
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1/2 while onion small diced
- Salt
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon tumeric
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds
- 1/2 up dried cranberries
- Yogurt Tahini Sauce:
- 1 cup Greek yogurt whole milk is best
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon water or more to reach desired thickness
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and make the farro according to the package in water or vegetable stock.
- While it’s cooking, quick pickle the jalapeños. Combine water, vinegar, sugar, salt, and garlic in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then add in jalapeños and remove from heat. Let them cool for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Use a knife to cut around the edges leaving 1/3 inch of eggplant around the edge, careful not to cut through the skin. Use a spoon or melon baller to scoop out the eggplant flesh. Drizzle eggplant with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle salt and then place on a foil lined baking sheet flesh side up. Roast for 15 minutes.
- While the eggplants are roasting, chop the scooped eggplant into small pieces. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and add onions and a sprinkle of salt and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Then add eggplant and garlic and lower heat to medium. Cook 10 minutes more until eggplant is tender, then and turmeric, sumac, cinnamon, pepper and cumin and sauté for 2 more minutes.
- Stir into farro. Add almonds and dried cranberries. Adjust with salt to taste. Scoop into roasted eggplants and roast for 15-20 more minutes until skin is soft and filling heated through.
- While the eggplants are roasting, whisk together yogurt, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, water, salt and pepper to make tahini sauce.
- Top eggplants with tahini sauce, pickled jalapeños and fresh mint. Enjoy!
15 Comments
So in love with this dish!!
Thanks! 🙂
[…] Farro Stuffed Eggplant w/ Jalapenos & Tahini […]
As usual, Amy, you are my vegetable hero. I have a fridge full of eggplant and I can’t figure out what to do with them (the Hub doesn’t really love them). I pop over here and…bingo! Eggplant solution. Been wanting to do something with farro anyway, too. So…hooray!
Uh-oh. No sumac. Grocery store? Or do I have to make a trip someplace special. Substitute?
Hooray! Sumac has a citrus flavor, so you could add some lemon zest or leaving it out would be tasty anyways! I wouldn’t leave the house!
Did I read that correctly – these freeze well?
Yes! I froze some wrapped in foil and then in a plastic bag. To defrost it I zapped it in the microwave and then roasted in the oven for about 10 minutes until hot!
Good to know…however, there were none left. These were quite possibly the best thing I’ve made from your site. Hub loved the tahini sauce and he hates yogurt – so that’s positive. He also really doesn’t love eggplant but he had two helpings of this. Our daughter loved it as well and was especially fond of the pickled jalapenos – go figure. This was a winner!
Awesome! This was one of my favorite recipes too. So glad you and your family liked them!
That looks so good! I love eggplant, especially when it doesn’t make my mouth itch. I just got back from getting to sit in a sukkah at my daughter’s school and eat a wonderful Sukkot potluck. A woman did a traditional blessing with the lulav and my daughter wants an etrog now. We all even got to sing Hava Nagila (spelling?) and dance.
It was such a fun celebration and I was thankful to learn more about Jewish holidays.
I hope to visit your blog often 🙂
How fun! Thanks for stopping by!
[…] Kritzer at What Jew Wanna Eat has done it again. We pulled her Farro Stuffed Eggplants with Pickled Jalapeños and Tahini Sauce a week or so ago and finally made it for dinner this weekend. Oh. My. […]
[…] And Farro Stuffed Eggplant with Tahini Yogurt Sauce and Pickled Jalapeños. […]
[…] Farro Stuffed Eggplants with Pickled Jalapeños & Tahini Yogurt Sauce by What Jew Wanna Eat […]