PAPOUTSAKIA - STUFFED EGGPLANT
" Yiannakis "

This is my variation to make “papoutsakia”, stuffed eggplant.

The amount of ingredients is for 2 persons. The “papoutsakia” can be combined with a mixed salad and in olive oil nicely brown fried, small blocks of potatoes.

The best taste is reached when the food is made at least 4 hours before consumption.

Ingredients:

2 eggplants (15-17 cm)

200 gram of lean minced veal meat

1 onion (8cm) cut in small pieces

4 pieces of medium size garlic in slices (2mm)

2 tablespoons topped as full as possible with small cut parsley

1 big tomato, peeled, seeds removed, cut in small pieces

-salt

-pepper

-olive oil

-knifepoint of cinnamon

Béchamel sauce

1     25 gram butter (a vegetable oil product will disintegrate when heated)

2      tablespoons topped as full as possible with flour

3     dl. Lukewarm milk

2      tablespoons topped as full as possible with minced cheese

-      nutmeg  

·        Wash the eggplants, cut the end, cut in half and take the inside out, leaving 1 cm. on all sides. Put them in an oven dish, made fat with a bit of oil

·        Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan.

·        Bake the minced meat slowly while making it loose.  Don’t fry brown. When it is hardly done, add the onion and carefully go on, until the onion looks glazy.

·        Add the garlic, parsley, tomato and pepper and salt after taste.

·        Cook a bit to get rid of the water but stop before the tomato falls apart.

·        Add the cinnamon, stir shortly.

·        Stop cooking and fill the eggplant halves, press a bit and make even with the rim of the eggplant.

·        Melt the butter, avoid browning and take from the fire

·        Add the flower and stir well to avoid lumps

·        Put on a low flame and add the milk while stirring . Go on stirring until the sauce starts to get thicker. Add the cheese and nutmeg. Stir shortly and take off the fire.

If the sauce looks a bit to thin to put on the eggplants, wait a bit until the cooling cheese makes it thicker.

·        Cover the eggplants with the sauce and be sure all parts are covered with it to get even cooking of the whole eggplant.

·        Put the dish in a preheated oven (about 180 degrees Celsius) and leave them there for 20 min.

·        Stop the heating and leave them in the oven.

·        Before serving: take them out of the oven and preheat the oven.

·        Put the dish in for 10 min to get through and though hot.

·        Serve the eggplant, the potatoes surrounding them on a preheated plate.