Eggplant-Stuffed Brisket Braised with Tomatoes, Saffron, and Honey

Name: Eggplant-Stuffed Brisket Braised with Tomatoes, Saffron, and Honey
Yield: Yield: 8 generous servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar; ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon; One 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, packed in their juice; 2 teaspoons peeled and finely minced fresh ginger; 3 dried apricots, diced (a tart variety especially—these are usually the ones available in specialty or appetizing stores from California, not Turkey—will point up the sweet and tangy nuances) (optional); 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic; A first-cut beef brisket (about 5 pounds), trimmed of excess fat, with a deep, wide pocket for stuffing (have your butcher cut along one of the short sides, extending nearly to the edge along the other three sides); Steamed rice, mamaliga (polenta), or couscous; ¼ cup aromatic honey (an herb flower honey, like thyme or rosemary, would be superb); About 6 tablespoons olive oil; ¼ teaspoon saffron threads; Freshly ground black pepper; 2 large onions, coarsely chopped (about 4 cups); Coarse kosher salt; 1 medium-large eggplant (about 1¼ pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

Preparation info

Yield:
8
generous servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Gefilte Variations

By Jayne Cohen

Published 2000

About

“Jews’ food,” they called eggplant in mid-nineteenth-century Florence, according to Italian food historian Pellegrino Artusi in The Art of Eating Well (1891).

They were right, of course. Introduced first into Italy by the Sephardim, who had fallen in love with the meat

Ingredients

Main course
Jewish

Ingredients

Method