Lamb and eggplant Sultan's delight (Hunkar begendi)

An ancient Turkish dish that is indeed suited to royalty, Sultan's Delight features tender lamb atop a fresh eggplant purée.

Credit: Adam Liaw

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 2 lamb fillets, about 120 g each, sinew trimmed
• extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 50 ml butter
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 50 g green olives, pitted and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp isot pepper
• pinch of salt

Eggplant purée

• 4 eggplants
• 120 g butter
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 300 ml thin (whipping) cream
• 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 200 g grated kaşar (or provolone)
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. For the eggplant puree, prick the eggplants all over with a fork, then place the directly onto the flame of your cooktop and cook, turning regularly, until blackened and blistered. Fill a large bowl with iced water and add the lemon juice. Once the eggplants are ready, place in the iced water and when cool enough to handle, peel off the burnt skin. Squeeze out any excess water from the eggplant and set aside in a colander to drain for about 10 minutes.  
2. Finely chop the eggplants. Melt 100 g of the butter in a large frying pan over low heat. Add the eggplant pieces and whisk together to make a mash. Add the cream, nutmeg and grated kaşar and stir to combine well. Add the white pepper and salt and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Preheat a chargrill pan over high heat. Drizzle the lamb fillets with a little oil and cook until browned on all sides. Remove from the grill and set aside.  
4. Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the garlic, olives, cumin, isot pepper and salt and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Slice the lamb fillets into cubes, add to the pan and toss for 1 minute or until cooked to your liking.   
5. Divide the eggplant purée between serving plates. Top with the lamb, then pour over the burnt butter mixture and serve.

 

Photography by Adam Liaw.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.