Savory
Eggplants with beef in red sauce
Maybe its not eggplant season yet. But when you find the ideal eggplants in the flea market, you can not resist.
So I purchased wonderful, round, tight and without bumps eggplants and I was ready to create. My initial thought was to make the known "shoes" (eggplants with minced meat and bechamel sauce) but along the way I changed my mind (not the first time that this happens...lol).
I remembered a dish that I ate last year at a restaurant in Poros. Instead of minced meat they had used diced beed and I can say I really enjoyed the dish. Decision made. I was going to do it like that. I cut meat into bite sizes so that could be eaten easier and so that it would be ready at the same time as eggplants. Instead of béchamel sauce I used grated cheeses that I had in the fridge. It became a wonderful meal without much effort.
Enjoy
Ingredients :
- 6 eggplants (round dark purple ones)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 500 gr beef (diced)
- 1 red onion (finely chopped)
- 500 gr tomato juice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (powder)
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- salt, pepper
- 3 glasses of water (hot)
- 200 gr parmesan (grated)
- 200 gr cheddar (grated)
Preparation :
- Preheat oven at 180C.
- Clean and cut eggplants lengthwise to create "boats".
- Score with a knife the flesh without removing it.
- Sprinkle with salt and a bit of sugar.
- Place eggplants in a brushed with oil baking pan.
- Cook in the oven for about an hour till eggplants are soft. Do not over-cook them.
- While eggplants cooking, prepare beef.
- In a big saucepan heat olive oil and saute meat.
- Add onions and keep stirring till soft.
- Add tomato juice, water and spices.
- Stir and simmer for about an hour, till meat is almost ready and sauce is thickened.
- Remove eggplants from oven and fill the flesh with spoonful of meat.
- Sprinkle on top lots of grated cheese.
- Cook in the oven for half more hour, till cheeses melt and get a golden brown colour.
