INGREDIENTS

Meat Mixture
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion finely diced
4 cloves garlic crushed
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup shelled pistachios
½ lb. ground beef or ½ lb. Lions Mane Mushroom Mix from Big Mountain
¾ cup cooked rice
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp turmeric
1 smoked tsp paprika
1 tsp regular paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
Eggplant
10 small eggplant or 5 large eggplants
6 colourful peppers
4 tbsp olive oil

Toping
2 tbsp tahini
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
-Cut a large X in the skin of each eggplant.
-Place on a baking sheet and toss with 2 tbsp olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper
-Cut tops off peppers, clean out insides and place them in a muffin tin so they stand up
-Brush them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper
Bake them in the oven for approximately 40 minutes depending on the size, until the eggplant is soft and tender.

In a pan on medium heat, add the olive oil, diced onion and garlic, and cook for 10 minutes until the onion has softened.

Add in the pistachios and pine nuts and cook for another 5 minutes

Add in the ground beef and break the meat up into a crumble and cook until pink is gone

Add all the remaining ingredients for the meat mixture and let cook for another 10 minutes so that the flavours combine.

Once the eggplants and peppers are done cooking, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly so that they will be easier to handle. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh from each of the eggplants and take the tops of peppers and reserve.

Fill each of the eggplants and the peppers with the ground meat or plant-based mixture, making sure that you pack it in tightly. Put the tops back on the peppers

Bake for another 15 minutes

Make the tahini sauce by whisking together the tahini, lemon juice, salt, and water.

Drizzle them with the tahini sauce and sprinkle with fresh parsley and pomegranate seeds. Serve warm.