Today we're heading to the very heart of Lebanese culinary tradition. We'll make two iconic dishes that have graced tables from Beirut to mountain villages for centuries — stuffed eggplants in tomato sauce and juicy meat patties in creamy tahini.
🍆 Sheikh el Mahshi
Stuffed eggplants with spiced meat filling, braised in fragrant tomato-garlic sauce. The eggplants become silky, absorb all the juices, and the meat filling melts in your mouth.
Ingredients:
• Medium eggplants — 6 pieces
• Ground beef — 400 g
• Onions — 2 medium
• Pine nuts — 60 g
• Garlic — 6 cloves
• Tomato paste — 3 tbsp
• Canned tomatoes — 400 g
• Ground coriander — 1 tsp
• Ground cinnamon — ½ tsp
• Ground allspice — ½ tsp
• Olive oil — 100 ml
• Salt — to taste
• Black pepper — to taste
• Water or broth — 200 ml
Preparation:
Step 1. Wash and dry the eggplants. Cut each lengthwise in half. Score the flesh with deep diagonal lines in both directions (diamond grid), without cutting through the skin. Sprinkle with salt (½ tsp per half), leave for 20 minutes — dark bitter liquid will come out of the eggplants, the flesh will soften.
Step 2. Blot the eggplants with paper towel, removing all moisture. Heat 4 tbsp olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat until slightly shimmering (170-180°C). Fry the eggplants cut side down in batches of 3-4 halves, 4-5 minutes — the flesh should become golden brown with caramelized edges. Flip, fry skin side down for 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Step 3. Dice the onion finely (3-4 mm). In the same skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil, sauté the onion 5-6 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the pine nuts, fry 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until golden and nutty-fragrant. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
Step 4. Add the ground meat to the same skillet, break it up with a spatula. Cook 7-8 minutes over medium heat, breaking up lumps, until the meat turns gray-brown and all liquid evaporates. Return the onion-nut mixture, add cinnamon, coriander, allspice, salt (1 tsp) and black pepper (½ tsp). Stir, simmer 2 minutes — the spices should release their aroma, the filling should become uniform and fragrant.
Step 5. On each eggplant half, place 2-3 tbsp meat filling, pressing lightly into the cuts. Arrange the stuffed eggplants in a deep baking dish (30×20 cm) in a single layer, filling side up.
Step 6. Crush the garlic with the flat side of a knife, chop finely. In a bowl, mix tomato paste, canned tomatoes (mash with a fork), garlic, remaining olive oil (2 tbsp), water, salt (½ tsp) and black pepper (¼ tsp). Pour the sauce over the eggplants so the liquid comes halfway up the eggplants but doesn't completely cover the filling.
Step 7. Cover the dish with foil, bake at 180°C for 40 minutes. Remove the foil, continue baking another 15-20 minutes — the sauce should thicken and lightly caramelize around the edges, the eggplants should become completely soft (knife enters without resistance), and a golden crust should form on the surface of the filling.
Serving:
Serve hot or warm, drizzled with sauce from the dish. Traditionally served with basmati rice or warm lavash.
💡 Fact: The dish's name translates as "the sheikh's faint" — according to legend, a religious leader was so overwhelmed by the taste of this dish that he nearly fainted from delight. Every Lebanese family has its own version of the recipe, passed down from generation to generation.
🥙 Kafta bi Tahini
Juicy oblong patties of ground meat with spices, baked in velvety sesame paste sauce. Tahini gives the dish nutty creaminess and light tartness.
Ingredients:
For the kafta:
• Ground beef (or beef/lamb mix 1:1) — 600 g
• Onion — 1 large
• Fresh parsley — large bunch (50 g)
• Fresh cilantro — ½ bunch (20 g)
• Ground cumin — 1 tsp
• Ground coriander — 1 tsp
• Ground allspice — ½ tsp
• Sweet paprika — ½ tsp
• Salt — 1 tsp
• Black pepper — ½ tsp
For the tahini sauce:
• Tahini (sesame paste) — 180 g
• Lemon juice — 80 ml
• Garlic — 3 cloves
• Cold water — 150-200 ml
• Salt — ½ tsp
For baking:
• Tomatoes — 3 medium
• Onion — 1 medium
• Olive oil — 2 tbsp
Preparation:
Step 1. Peel the onion for the kafta and grate on a fine grater into a bowl. Squeeze through cheesecloth or a fine sieve, removing excess juice (leave 1-2 tbsp for juiciness). Wash and dry the parsley and cilantro, chop finely with a knife — should get a uniform green mass without large stems.
Step 2. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, grated onion, chopped herbs, all spices (cumin, coriander, allspice, paprika), salt and black pepper. Knead thoroughly by hand for 3-4 minutes, squeezing and working the mass — the meat should become sticky, uniform, start holding its shape. Refrigerate for 30 minutes for better shaping.
Step 3. Moisten your hands with cold water. Pinch off portions of meat the size of a walnut (50-60 g), form oblong patties 8-10 cm long and 2-3 cm thick, like thick cigars with rounded ends. Place on a plate. Should get 12-14 pieces.
Step 4. Make the tahini sauce. Crush the garlic with a press or chop finely to a paste. In a bowl, mix tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt. The mixture will first thicken and become lumpy — this is normal. Gradually pour in cold water 2 tbsp at a time, whisking vigorously after each addition. The sauce should turn into a smooth creamy mass the consistency of thin sour cream, light beige in color.
Step 5. Slice the tomatoes into rounds 5-7 mm thick. Peel the onion, slice into half-moons 3-4 mm thick. Grease a baking dish (25×35 cm) with olive oil. Arrange half the tomatoes and onions on the bottom. Top with the kafta patties in a single tight layer. Cover with the remaining tomatoes and onions.
Step 6. Pour the tahini sauce evenly over everything, spreading it with a spoon to cover the patties and vegetables. The sauce should fill the space between patties but doesn't have to completely cover them — during baking it will spread.
Step 7. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 35-40 minutes. The surface of the sauce should become golden brown with dark spots, the patties should be fully cooked (internal temperature 70-75°C), and bubbling oil should appear around the edges of the dish. The sauce will thicken but remain creamy inside.
Serving:
Serve straight from the dish or transfer to a large platter. Traditionally served with rice, warm lavash or pita, fresh vegetables and pickled cucumbers.
💡 Fact: Kafta is one of the most ancient dishes of the Levant, mentioned in medieval Arabic culinary treatises. In Lebanon, kafta is prepared dozens of ways: grilled, in tomato sauce, with cherries, but the tahini version is considered especially festive and often appears at family gatherings.