Recipe for Eggplant Rolls Stuffed with Meat Baked in Rich Tomato Sauce

This recipe offers a festive yet simple dish for Shabbat: eggplant rolls filled with seasoned ground beef and baked in a flavorful tomato sauce. The eggplants are sliced thin, brushed with olive oil, and baked until soft enough to roll without breaking. The filling combines ground beef with onion, garlic, parsley, paprika, cumin, baharat, salt, and pepper. The tomato sauce is made from crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, paprika, silan (date syrup), water, salt, and pepper, simmered for about 10 minutes.

The tomato sauce is poured into a baking dish, and the beef mixture is placed on each eggplant slice, which is then rolled up and arranged tightly in the sauce. More sauce is poured over the rolls before covering and baking at 190 degrees Celsius for 35 minutes. After removing the cover, the dish bakes uncovered for another 15 minutes until the meat is cooked, the eggplants are tender, and the sauce thickens. The dish is garnished with fresh parsley and served hot, ideally with tahini and fresh challah bread for a perfect Shabbat main course.