This is a dish I’ve eaten many times when visiting my husband’s hometown of Gaziantep. Patlıcan kebabı aka “eggplant kabob” is a dish regularly enjoyed in Eastern Turkey. It is surprisingly easy to make with just a few ingredients and little prep – and it’s a one sheet dinner!
The biggest challenge when making this dish here in the U.S. is finding the right size eggplant. You want a narrow, smaller/medium size eggplant, versus the very large, round eggplants you tend to find in our grocery stores.
I’ve found the greatest success using eggplants grown in home gardens which tend to be more narrow, or else visiting an asian grocery market where you can find smaller eggplants.
Traditionally, this dish is eaten by breaking up pieces of meat, and pulling apart the vegetables on a very thin bread, topping with additional salt, then rolling up into a wrap.
You’ll see most Turkish people carefully peel the skin from the tomatoes, peppers, and even the eggplants by scraping out the insides and discarding the rest. (See my lovely husband as an example below).
I personally eat all of it – I don’t find that it makes much of a difference in taste to make it worth the effort. Also, many of the nutrients of fruits and vegetables are in the peel!
To each their own – eat how you like it.
Here’s what you need:
- ~1-1.5 lbs of lamb or beef (NOT lean)
- ~3 small/medium eggplants
- ~2 large tomatoes
- ~4-5 banana or poblano peppers
- ~1.5 tsp salt
- ~1 tsp black pepper
- Tortillas or other very thin bread
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
In a large bowl, place the meat, salt and pepper and mix well with your hands.
Next, cut your eggplants into pieces ~2 inches. Quarter your tomatoes.
Now, grab a chunk of meat and smash it up against a piece of eggplant against the side of a baking dish. Sandwich the meat with another eggplant, and continue layering meat and eggplant in your dish until you’ve used all of the meat. It’s easier to do this in a circular baking dish, but not required. In the center of the baking pan, you can place your tomatoes and peppers.
Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Then, turn the oven to broil at 400 degrees fahrenheit, remove the foil, and cook for an additional five minutes.
Serve with a tortilla or other thing bread that you can use as a wrap and (optional) additional salt.
Patlıcan Kebabı - Eggplant Kabob
Ingredients
- ~1-1.5 lbs of lamb or beef (NOT lean)
- ~3 small/medium eggplants
- ~2 large tomatoes
- ~4-5 banana or poblano peppers
- ~1.5 tsp salt
- ~1 tsp black pepper
- Tortillas or other very thin bread
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
In a large bowl, place the meat, salt and pepper and mix well with your hands.
Next, cut your eggplants into pieces ~2 inches. Quarter your tomatoes.
Now, grab a chunk of meat and smash it up against a piece of eggplant against the side of a baking dish. Sandwich the meat with another eggplant, and continue layering meat and eggplant in your dish until you’ve used all of the meat. It’s easier to do this in a circular baking dish, but not required. In the center of the baking pan, you can place your tomatoes and peppers.
Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Then, turn the oven to broil at 400 degrees fahrenheit, remove the foil, and cook for an additional five minutes.
Serve with a tortilla or other thing bread that you can use as a wrap and (optional) additional salt.
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