Papoutsakia
(from Greek shoe) is an eggplant stuffed with meat and feta cheese, prepared in an oven
INGREDIENTS
- 4 medium or large eggplants
- 1 large onion
- 400 g of minced beef
- a pinch of cumin
- 125 ml dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- salt
- pepper
- Bay leaf
- 1 clove of garlic
- 100 g of yellow grated cheese
Making Papautsakia
We start the preparation of papoutsakia by cutting the eggplants . Salt each half and leave for half an hour. Then rinse and dry the eggplants.
We hollow them out, Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion. Add minced meat and fry until browned. Sprinkle with cinnamon and add chopped eggplant pulp. Fry for a while, then add the wine, tomato puree, bay leaf and garlic.
Stew the stuffing for about 30 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
In the meantime, we can prepare the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a pan, add the flour and stir vigorously until the ingredients are combined. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Heat the sauce, add nutmeg, salt, pepper and half of the grated cheese. Allow to cool, then add the egg yolk and mix thoroughly.
Ina separate pan, fry the hollowed out eggplants on both sides in olive oil until they soften and the skin is browned. Put them in an ovenproof dish, arranging them so that they support each other. Put the stuffing on each eggplant and cover it with béchamel sauce. Sprinkle with the other half of the grated cheese.
Place the heat-resistant dish with eggplants in a preheated oven at a temperature of about 170 ° C. The dish will be ready in about 40 minutes when the béchamel is browned.