Melitzanes papoutsakia (eggplant stuffed with meat sauce and bechamel)
Greek cuisine · Dimitra's Dishes · ♥ 1.3K likes · 42K views · 7 min video
No ratings yet
Read about ground beef in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 1 cup water
Halve the eggplants lengthwise; cut crisscross slits in the flesh without reaching the bottom.
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Place in a baking pan that fits them; drizzle both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- 1 whole onion
- ¼ cup olive oil
Cook the chopped onion in about a quarter cup olive oil with a pinch of salt until soft and golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
- 1½ lb ground beef
Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink; season with salt and pepper.
- crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
Add crushed red pepper flakes and the crushed tomatoes, rinsing the can into the pan.
Cook over medium-high, stirring every so often, 20 to 25 minutes until thick and the liquid has evaporated.
- 1 tsp dried crushed oregano
- finely chopped parsley leaves
Off the heat, stir in the oregano and parsley; let cool.
Oregano and parsley off the heat
- 4–5 tbsp all purpose flour
- 4–5 tbsp olive oil
In a saucepan cook the flour and olive oil over medium-high until toasted, a couple of minutes.
Making the bechamel
- 2 cup cold whole milk
- black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Add the cold milk, salt, black pepper and nutmeg; cook until it boils, thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
- 2 whole eggs
Beat the eggs; whisk in some of the hot sauce to temper them, then off the heat whisk the eggs into the pot.
- grated Parmesan cheese or kefalotiri, kefalograviera
Whisk in the grated cheese; taste for salt and pepper.
- shredded Parmesan cheese or kefalotiri
Mash the baked eggplant flesh a little and spread to make room; top with shredded cheese, then the meat sauce, then the bechamel, then more cheese.
Raise the oven to 425F and bake on the centre rack about 25 minutes until golden.
Freezes in an airtight container for a month or two; thaw and warm through in the oven.
Tasting and freezing