The eggplants at the farmers market this weekend looked really nice so I picked up a bunch of them. The first dish that I tried with them was Melitzanes Papoutsakia or Stuffed Eggplant “Little Shoes”. The aubergines are stuffed with a beef and tomato mixture and topped with bechamel sauce, a slice of tomato and some cheese. It takes about 2 hours to make so it is probably best to do on the weekend. The dish turned out pretty good. It both looked good and tasted good. Overall it was a good start to the use of the eggplants that I got.
Melitzanes Papoutsakia (Stuffed Eggplant)
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 2 hours Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes Servings: 2
ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 2 tomatoes (chopped)
- 1/2 cup parsley (chopped)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tomato (sliced)
- 1 cup of bechamel sauce
- 1 cup kefalotyri cheese (grated) (or pecorino)
directions
- Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and scoop out the middle leaving the shell about 1/8 inch thick.
- Heat the oil in a pan.
- Add the onions and saute until translucent.
- Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.
- Chop and add the eggplant that was removed from the shells.
- Add the ground beef and cook until it is browned.
- Add the tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Spread some of the cheese over the bottom of the eggplant shell. Fill the shell with the stuffing. Cover with the bechamel sauce. Place a slice of tomato on top. Cover with the remaining cheese.
- Cook in a preheated 350F/180C oven until the the eggplant is tender, about 60-90 minutes.
Kevin, your Papoutsakia look as good as I’ve seen in any Greek home!
Wow, that looks good, and I don’t even like eggplant!
I notice in your recipe that you don’t salt or otherwise prep the eggplant in anyway. I have never had luck cooking eggplant, they always taste bitter. Do you do anything to yours before you cook them?
I have never really found eggplants to be all that bitter so I do not do anything to them before cooking them. I have seen several recipes that call for salting the eggplant and letting it sit for 30 minutes to draw out the bitterness.
Kevin. Is the timing correct? 60 – 90 minutes to brown the cheese?
The 60-90 minutes is to cook the eggplant shell until tender.