Baked “Stuffed” Eggplant

1. Peel eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch rounds.
2. Place eggplant into a bowl of salted water and let it sit for about an hour. Preheat oven to 400 F towards the end of this time.
3. Drain the water off of the eggplant and rinse remaining salt off. Pat dry with paper towel. Put eggplant slices onto a large baking sheet and brush each slice with olive oil. Put into a 400 F oven and roast for about 20 minutes.
4. While eggplant is in oven, heat 1/2 stick of butter in a skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted add onion and cook until it turns translucent.
5. Add ground round and cook until beef is browned.
6. Add salt, pepper, cinnamon, allspice, and 1/4 cup lemon juice. Stir until all spices are mixed in.
7. Let meat simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes. If the mixture looks dry, add 2 tablespoons of butter.
8. In a pan, heat tomato juice, garlic that has been minced, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
9. Take eggplant out of oven and place slices in a single layer in 1-2 9×12 baking dishes, depending on how many will fit into your dish. Lower the oven temperature to 350 F.
10. Top each slice of eggplant with some of the meat mixture.
11. Pour tomato juice over the top until the eggplant is covered. You may have extra juice that you don’t need.
12. Bake uncovered at 350 F for 45 minutes, or until eggplant cuts easily with a fork.
13. Serve over cooked white rice.