Ground Lamb Eggplant Tomato Skillet
Put a little bit of exoticism on the table tonight with this Ground Lamb Eggplant Tomato Skillet!
I’ve been on a crazy lamb and eggplant kick lately… can you tell? I thought for sure that making moussaka would take care of the craving, but apparently, it only served to make it stronger. After eating the entire thing to myself (over the course of a week…) I still wanted more lamb, more eggplant and more tomato.
I had this very specific vision in my mind: I had no idea what to call it, but I knew exactly what it would taste like, and look like. And now, you’re looking at it, so you too know what it looks like. You only need find out what it tastes like!
Trust me, if you too dig this lamb and eggplant combination, you are going to be ALL over this dish. It’s refreshing but satisfying, it feels light yet it’s crazy earthy, and it tastes just like you on a vacation somewhere exotic that you can’t quite put your finger on but that is definitely not your kitchen!
And it’s fairly quick and easy to make, too! I say you should totally whip it up; trust me you won’t regret it!
Heat some olive oil (or your favorite healthy cooking oil) in a large saute pan set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until fragrant and slightly browned, about 3 to 4 minutes, then throw in the ground lamb, salt and pepper.
Continue cooking, stirring from time to time and breaking the meat as you go, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
Add the diced eggplant, stir and continue cooking for about a minute…
Now, the decision to peel the eggplant or not is entirely up to you. I decided to peel one of them and leave the peel on the other one, for a little bit of added texture. Some people don’t care much for eggplant peel, so if you’re one of them, feel free to take it all out.
Pour in the chicken stock…
Stir well, cover, lower the heat to low and continue cooking until the eggplant is soft and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat source and stir in the harissa, diced tomatoes, chopped parsley and mint.
If you didn’t have any harissa, sambal oelek would be a good replacement, or any other hot chili pepper paste that you might have on hand…
I chose to serve my Lamb Eggplant Tomato Skillet over a bed of couscous, but white rice, or even cauli-rice if you wanted to keep things paleo, would be equally good!
Top with a little bit more harissa, if you want a little bit more heat, a few mint leaves to make the dish even prettier, and dig in!
Ground Lamb Eggplant Tomato Skillet
Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1 tsp salt, I use Himalayan salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 2 medium eggplants, peeled* and diced (about 6 cups)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 tbsp harissa, or other chili paste
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
- couscous or white rice, for serving (or cauli-rice for paleo)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil (or your favorite healthy cooking oil) in a large saute pan set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until fragrant and slightly browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground lamb, salt and pepper and continue cooking, stirring from time to time and breaking the meat as you go, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
- Add the diced eggplant, stir and continue cooking for about a minute and then pour in the chicken stock. Stir well, cover, lower the heat to low and continue cooking until the eggplant is soft, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the harissa, diced tomatoes, chopped parsley and mint.
- Serve immediately over a bed of couscous or white rice, or cauli-rice to keep things paleo.
Notes
Nutrition
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
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23 Comments on “Ground Lamb Eggplant Tomato Skillet”
Day 22 of whole 30 and you’ve just come to the rescue AGAIN! I need something new and flavorful and this is it. I’ll serve over some mashed white sweet potatoes and be in heaven. You are so gifted!
Hahaha, thank you so much, Dana, that is so very kind of you to say! Good luck with the remainder of your Whole30! 🙂
Oh Sonia, this looks so delicious! cant Wait to make it ????
I have some hamburg ,onion and mushrooms just fried up to make something .Me thinks this is the way to go . Thanks fo idea
Hi Sonia!
This looks really good and with all the ingredients that I like.
Worth a try.
When cooking lamb where I use broth, I usually use have chicken and half beef, gives a good flavour.
I love Mediterranean food and this looks amazing!! Can’t wait to try!
Eggplant + lamb + tomato are perfect combinations. It’s great that we don’t have to worry about our diets.
I made this tonight and it was really delicious. Can’t wait for leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I peeled one eggplant and left the other as well – perfect. I used a little bit more chilli, but that’s just personal taste. Thanks so much – great recipe 😊👍
This was incredibly delicious and quick and easy. The leftovers were even better. We did sub Chinese chili paste as that is what we already had.
Thank you, Kim! 🙂
Your recipes are so intriguing to me. I cook meals for my 95 year old mother, daily. She really likes lamb, but loin chops and roasted leg have become to challenging for her. She also likes eggplant and tomatoes. I will be trying all of these recipes in hopes of treating her to new things involving the things she most likes. Thank you!
Awesome! Hope she like it! 🙂
Delicious — thanks!
Absolutely delicious, we all loved it and I will be making it again very soon. We love eggplant and we love lamb and this is a quick and easy combination.
This was absolutely delicious. I will make this a part of our menu planning in the future. We loved the way the eggplant soaked up the favors from the meat. I didn’t have any fresh mint, but used some dried from our yard. I used sambal oleck red chili paste, just 1/2 teaspoon, which was just enough for us, not too hot but flavorful.
Awesome! Real happy to hear, Irene… and thanks much for taking the time to leave such great feedback. You rock! 🙂
This recipe is very good & easy to make! I used 16 0z canned fire roasted tomatoes along with a small tomato, some additional Mediterranean seasoning &the cauliflower rice. Great taste. Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow
Terrific recipe made for the whole family! Prepared as written and it had tons of great flavor! Thanks for this recipe. It’s a keeper for us!
I’ve made this recipe 3 times so far, and will make it again. I’ve added the eggplant raw, or precooked – either works. Tonight I served it with brown rice. I put guacamole on top of the meat in the skillet and served it with chopped cucumber as well. All tasty, all adding texture and interest.
Very tasty recipe. We used bastami rice with a half cup chopped dried cranberries and about a tablespoon of orange zest. Really kicked up the flavors with the dish.
This was delicious. We used Sirracha as we did not have Harissa and it was very good.
This recipe turned out GREAT! I added more garlic and harissa that’s all. I recommend using harissa if available as it has a wonderful flavor. Since we have a meat grinder I made my own ground lamb so I could make it lean. Thanks for this one!
Not a regular lamb eater, this recipe has made me think twice. I used siracha sauce in place of harissa (don’t know where to buy harissa) and coriander, cinnamon and cardamom in place of mint, which also I couldn’t find. But on a bed of couscous, it was delicious. I thank you for giving me another option for dinner. Eggplant and lamb… who would have thought…