Three words, rustic, rich, flavorful! I think these would be the best words to describe this eggplant soup. Read along to find a perfect comfort delight!
If you are reading my blog for some time, you know I like to play around with my food. Sorry, mom! This eggplant soup was born from the need of turning one of my favorite Turkish dishes, Imam bayildi, into one-pot form, creating comfort food, which I could enjoy with a piece of rustic bread (in front of a fireplace!). HA! Yes, it is winter here in Colorado and yes, it is very cold. Maybe that was the driving force behind my concoction. After exterminating a whole pot of this delicious mess, I can only highly recommend you try making it at home.
Once I shared my recipe of Imam bayildi (which is not on this blog yet) with my friends in one of the social media sites. After publishing it, I received a note from one of my Turkish friends, which read “They lied to you. Imam Bayildi does not have meat in it”. Well, my friends, you are reading a recipe written by a girl who shares her roots with Central Asian nomads. Meat is in my DNA. This fact might change some time in the future. However, while I was creating this eggplant soup the carnivorous fact still stood. If you are a vegetarian, you are more than welcome to omit the meat and see how it turns out. If you would omit using meat, add vegetable stock instead of water.
Another thing you will find here and not in the original Imam bayildi is the elbow pasta! I just felt like it had to go in the eggplant soup and I wasn’t wrong. You will just have to trust me on this :D
Ingredients:
- 2 medium eggplants
- 1 lb lean ground beef (can be substituted with chicken or turkey)
- 1 medium onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 L cups water+ ( can be substituted with chicken stock or vegetable stock)
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 Tbsp salt (add a small amount first and increase if you need to add more)
- 1 tsp dried mint (or 1 Tbsp fresh mint)
- 2 cups of cooked elbow pasta
- 1/2 cup coriander or parsley
Directions:
Thinly chop onions.
Roughly chop garlic.
Peel the eggplants and cut them in 1/2-inch cubes.
Slice the red bell pepper in strips and cube the strips.
Place the medium pot on a medium to high heat and add the oil into the pot. Place chopped onions into the pot and saute until translucent.
Once the onion is translucent add ground beef into the pot. Follow it up with salt. Without changing the heat, saute the onion+beef mixture for about 4 minutes. Add garlic and black pepper. Saute for another 2 minutes. The beef should get slightly browned at this point.
Add eggplant cubes into the pot and saute until all the eggplant pieces are coated with oil, for about 5-6 minutes. Turn the heat to low and cover the lid of the pot to let eggplant pieces soften up a little, for about 10 minutes.
Once the time is up, turn the heat back to medium-high, add cubed red bell peppers, smoked paprika and mint into the pot. Mix everything well. Saute for 2 minutes.
Add crushed tomatoes, saute for a little until tomatoes soften a tad bit. Add water or stock, turn the heat down to medium and let the soup simmer for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop up coriander or parsley and add to the soup. This is also a good time to add cooked elbow pasta into this glorious creation of yours! If you feel like the soup could use a little more liquid, don’t be afraid to add it. Voila! That’s pretty much it. I hope you will like it as much as my entire family did. If you have any questions, you know where to find me. Cheers!
Eggplant Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants
- 1 lb lean ground beef can be substituted with chicken or turkey
- 1 medium onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 L cups water+ can be substituted with chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 Tbsp salt add a small amount first and increase if you need to add more
- 1 tsp dried mint or 1 Tbsp fresh mint
- 2 cups cooked elbow pasta
- 1/2 cup coriander or parsley
Instructions
- Thinly chop onions. Roughly chop garlic. Peel the eggplants and cut them in 1/2-inch cubes. Slice the red bell pepper in strips and cube the strips.
- Place the medium pot on a medium to high heat and add the oil into the pot. Place chopped onions into the pot and saute until translucent.
- Once the onion is translucent add ground beef into the pot. Follow it up with salt. Without changing the heat, saute the onion+beef mixture for about 4 minutes. Add garlic and black pepper. Saute for another 2 minutes. The beef should get slightly browned at this point.
- Add eggplant cubes into the pot and saute until all the eggplant pieces are coated with oil, for about 5-6 minutes. Turn the heat to low and cover the lid of the pot to let eggplant pieces soften up a little, for about 10 minutes.
- Once the time is up, turn the heat back to medium-high, add cubed red bell peppers, smoked paprika and mint into the pot. Mix everything well. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add crushed tomatoes, saute for a little until tomatoes soften a tad bit. Add water or stock, turn the heat down to medium and let the soup simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, chop up coriander or parsley and add to the soup. This is also a good time to add cooked elbow pasta into this glorious creation of yours! If you feel like the soup could use a little more liquid, don’t be afraid to add it. Voila!
Please, what does 1 L cup water + mean?
I’m guessing that it means 1 liter, or a little more than 1 liter.