For the eggplant base Halve the eggplants, place them in plenty of salted water and leave to soak for at least half an hour.
The eggplants cook faster when marinated. In the meantime, you can complete other preparation steps.
For the nut-pomegranate filling Sauté the onions in a pan with a little oil until translucent and add the garlic (3 to 5 minutes).
In the original recipe, the author uses olive oil instead of rapeseed oil. Motivation (apple symbol) and link to the original recipe can be found directly above the recipe picture.
Finely chop the walnuts.
You can grind cracked walnuts in smaller quantities using an electric coffee grinder. Other electrical appliances can also be used for larger quantities. The nuts can also be crushed in a mortar or finely chopped on a board with a knife.
Add the finely chopped walnuts together with the rice and pomegranate syrup to the pot and slowly bring to the boil with water.
Set aside some walnuts for serving. The brown rice is not in the original recipe. We used it together with 200 g walnuts, instead of 300 g walnuts for 4 servings, to reduce the fat content.
Season with salt and pepper and simmer over low heat for 30-45 minutes, stirring frequently.
If necessary, add another 100 ml of water for 4 portions. The filling should not be runny, but pleasantly moist. If there is still some water left, simply simmer for a few minutes without a lid until the water has evaporated.
During the cooking process, you can turn your attention to the pomegranates. For this step, you will need around 100 g of pomegranate seeds, which you will need to carefully remove from the fruit.
There are already a few videos, including some on YouTube, that explain how to peel and remove the seeds. It is best to put the halved fruit in a bowl of cold water. Then use your fingers to remove the seeds, which immediately collect at the bottom of the peel. When you remove parts of the white skin, they float to the surface of the water, making them easy to remove before removing the seeds from the bottom of the bowl.
Fold in the pomegranate seeds and simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring constantly.
Set some of the pomegranate seeds aside for serving.
Remove the eggplants from the water and dry them thoroughly with a clean (paper) towel.
Cut the eggplant halves lengthwise twice along the flesh and fry in a heated pan for 4-5 minutes on each side.
The original recipe calls for 2-3 minutes of frying time per side of eggplant, but we recommend 4-5 minutes to achieve a more pleasant consistency.
For serving Juice the lemon and use the juice to refine the nut-pomegranate filling.
Spread the pomegranate-walnut mixture over the eggplants. Serve garnished with pomegranate seeds, chopped walnuts and some parsley.
Detailed Nutritional Information per Person for this Recipe
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
These healthy stuffed eggplants with nut and pomegranate filling are a hearty, fruity and unusual Iranian dish.
New nutrient profile: This dish has a very high content of manganese and copper. According to GDA guidelines, it covers over 50% of the daily requirement of folic acid and vitamin B6. Due to the high proportion of walnuts, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is 4:1 and thus below the maximum recommended ratio of 5:1. Through our changes, we were able to reduce the fat content from 120% of the daily requirement to 50%. Please read the link behind this motivation: Vegans often eat unhealthily. Avoidable nutritional errors.
Walnuts and fat content: The largest portion of fat in this recipe comes from the high-calorie walnuts. The real walnut, also called tree nut, has the highest proportion of linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid that is good for the heart) of all nuts. It also has health benefits thanks to tocopherols (forms of vitamin E) and many macro and trace elements.
Eggplant: Eggplant is a subtropical plant species of the nightshade family (Solanaceae). There are different types that differ in shape and color. The most common varieties sold in Europe and North America are elongated and have a dark purple color. The raw fruit has a slightly bitter taste with a somewhat astringent quality. When cooked, however, it has a tender consistency and develops a rich and complex flavor.
Pomegranates: Pomegranates are very nutrient-rich; scientific studies have shown that consumption of pomegranates had positive effects on cardiovascular health, cancer and arthritis prevention. Pomegranates are rich in vitamins C and K and folic acid. The seeds can be eaten raw.
Grenadine is not pomegranate syrup: Grenadine is a mixture of different berries and often contains fruit flavors, vanilla, colorings, anthocyanins, preservatives, etc. Pomegranate syrup, on the other hand, is an alcohol-free, sugar-sweetened fruit syrup with an intense red color.
Tips
Prepare walnuts: You should grind the walnuts before cooking or buy them already ground. The intermediate product can still be grainy, so it is not flour in the true sense of the word.
Alternate preparation
Buy pomegranate syrup or make it yourself: You can find pomegranate syrup in Turkish or oriental grocery stores, for example. You can also make your own pomegranate syrup using one of our recipes. See: Classic pomegranate syrup.
Cold-pressed versus refined rapeseed oil: Cold-pressed rapeseed oil is notsuitable in this case, as cold-pressed oils can only be heated slightly, in the case of cold-pressed rapeseed oil up to a maximum of 120 °C, as otherwise harmful substances are created. See the following link (cold-pressed rapeseed oil). But refined rapeseed oil should also be heated up to a maximum of 180 °C. Under no circumstances should it start to smoke, although decomposition will begin before that.
Chili flakes: If you like it a little spicier, chili flakes are a nice addition. The spiciness harmonizes well with the sweetness of the pomegranate .
