Melitzanes Papoutsakia-Stuffed Eggplant

Melitzanes Papoutsakia-Stuffed Eggplant
Delicious, juicy and with a uniquely fluffy, browned béchamel to cover them.
Tasting is very close to Moussaka, although many prefer it because the absence of potatoes makes it more dietary correct without losing the taste.
The béchamel cream, to which I refer in detail below, is the basic recipe of cream Roux, wherein the amounts of butter and flour are equal in weight. With the addition of cheese and eggs it becomes/ called bechamel.
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Melitzanes Papoutsakia-Stuffed Eggplant

Béchamel sauce in a Bain-marie

The recipe "béchamel sauce in a bain marie" is my friend's Gianna and comes from a professional, old cook in her family.
I would advise you to try it even once. It is the simplest, the most delicious and easy sauce that you will ever make.
Not clumpy, no smell from flour since the butter with the flour are boiled for some time in the milk and becomes a fluffy, thick, velvety cream, and mainly stays fluffy when reheated.
Also I want to point out that once you beat the milk with the mixer and it begins to thicken almost instantly is a great moment, magical. Especially the first time that you make it, you will think that something unique happened! Even expert cooks ignore this version of béchamel.

Ingredients (6 servings)

  • 6 eggplants ∼1½kg (3.3 lbs)
  • 600g (1.3 lbs) minced meat
  • 80g (2.8 oz) olive oil
  • 2 onions
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp thyme or oregano
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 5 allspice berries
  • 80g (2.8 oz) white wine
  • 3 ripe tomatoes
  • 70g (2.5 oz) tomato paste
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 50g (1.8 oz) Kefalotyri cheese (or Pecorino Romano), grated
  • oil for frying
Put the pot on the fire, add the oil, onions and mashed garlic to brown and shine without being burned.
Add the minced meat and stir often roasted well and change color.
Inside the pot add all the herbs and spices and add the wine.
Stir and leave for a while to evaporate the alcohol and the minced meat to get a flavor.
Finally add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper and 100 grams (3.5 oz) of water. Cover the pot and allow the minced meat to cook good, to thicken and be left without any excess juices, for 30'-40'.
When it is ready, beat the eggs with a fork with the grated cheese and mix with minced meat.
Leave them aside while you make the eggplant.
Wash and wipe the eggplant. Cut them in two, lengthwise, without removing the stalk. Scribe their flesh 4-5 shallow sections without letting the knife to penetrate. Salt them lightly.
Pour a small amount of oil in a deep, large skillet, burn and place the eggplants four at a time, with the cut side down.
No need to put them in water. The new varieties of eggplant are sweetest and not bitter at all…
Fry well on both sides.
Take them out and put them together in a large baking pan. In the frying skillet put the next four. Continue the same way until all are fried.
Leave them aside to prepare the béchamel sauce.

Béchamel in bain marie

  • 1 liter milk
  • 140g butter, room temperature
  • 140g flour
  • salt & white pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 150g kefalotyri cheese (or Pecorino Romano), grated coarse
In large saucepan, add water to boil for the bain marie and place on top a second, smaller pot into which pour the milk to get warm.
In a medium size bowl add the butter, flour, salt and pepper and mix with a spoon for a few minutes until a homogeneous dough-like mass.
When the milk is lukewarm pour carefully, with a spoon, the butter/ flour mix with one move, all together, to the milk. Do not stir.
Cover with lid the medium bowl and let it cook off for 15' exactly. The water should be boiling properly.
Just open the lid after 15 minutes and you will see the butter melted and pieces of the mixture into the milk, not reminiscent of anything from bechamel.
With hand mixer stir the mix slowly at first and immediately after the cream begins to thicken.
Add the two beaten eggs, nutmeg and grated cheese. Stir and taste the flavor.
With a spoon carefully remove from the eggplants, part of the pith. Do not throw away the pith, mash it and add to the minced meat.
Stuff the eggplants with two tablespoons of minced meat.
Upon the minced meat spread along the eggplant two tablespoons bechamel cream and sprinkle with some grated cheese.
Put the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15'-20' on the grill until the béchamel is golden brown.
Serve and enjoy.
Melitzanes Papoutsakia-Stuffed Eggplant Melitzanes Papoutsakia-Stuffed Eggplant
The amount of the proposed béchamel cream is a lot. For a large pan. You can store the leftover in a jar in the fridge before adding the eggs and cheese, for future use. Keep well for a few days.
With a small amount of this béchamel cream you can concentrate sauces of any food in place of cornflour.

Zambia Sifaki