Extra juicy and absolutely delicious! Melitzanes Papoutsakia’ (Greek stuffed eggplant) this aubergine based traditional Greek recipe will certainly amaze you! ‘Melitzanes Papoutsakia’ (Greek stuffed eggplant) is a Greek dish which receives its name from the resemblance of its shape with little shoes.
Ingredients
For eggplants and ground meat
- 3 eggplants, medium sized
- 3 tablespoon(s) olive oil
- 2 tablespoon(s) thyme
- 1 onion
- 1 clove(s) of garlic
- 1 pinch granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon(s) thyme, dry
- 1/4 teaspoon(s) cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon(s) cloves
- 250 g ground beef, ground
- 40 g red wine
- 400 g canned tomatoes
- 50 g gruyere cheese, grated
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 tablespoon(s)
- mint
- salt
- pepper
For the béchamel sauce
- 20 g butter
- 20 g all-purpose flour
- salt
- pepper
- 250 g milk, at room temperature
- 50 g gruyere cheese, grated
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 teaspoon(s)
- nutmeg
To serve
- 1 tablespoon(s)
- parsley
- olive oil, some
How to Make it
For the eggplants
- Place a nonstick pan over high heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and let it get very hot.
- Coarsely chop the onion and garlic. Add them to the pan.
- Add:
- sugar
- thyme
- cinnamon
- cloves
- salt
- pepper
- Stir with a wooden spoon and sauté for about 5 minutes, until they caramelize nicely.
- Add the ground meat and sauté for 2-3 minutes until golden.
- Add the wine and wait until the alcohol evaporates.
- Add the tomatoes and allow the mixture to boil for 10-15 minutes, until it reduces.
- When ready, remove from heat and set aside to cool a little.
- Add:
- gruyere
- parsley
- thyme
- mint
- Mix and fill the eggplants with a spoon.
For the béchamel sauce
- Place a pot over medium heat.
- Add
- butter
- flour
- salt
- pepper.
- Whisk until the butter melts and the mixture is completely combined.
- Add the milk in 5 batches, while continuously whisking and wait for each addition to become completely incorporated before adding the next.
- As soon as the first bubbles appear on the surface, remove from heat.
- Add:
- Gruyere
- nutmeg
- pepper
- salt
- egg yolks.
- Whisk until completely incorporated.
- Use a spoon to spread the béchamel sauce over the ground meat filling and sprinkle with ground nutmeg.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden.
- Serve with some extra virgin olive oil and finely chopped parsley.
Alternative to béchamel sauce
For a lighter meal, skip the béchamel sauce and crumble and feta cheese over the eggplants before putting them in the oven.
This Akis Petretzikis video demonstrates the preparation.