Papoutsakia - Stuffed Aubergines

Meaning "Little Shoes" in Greek, Despinaki tried this dish as a starter on her last visit to Greece and was well impressed. So we wanted to recreate it our own way.

We washed and dried a large aubergine, trimmed off the stem and cut it in half lengthwise. With a small knife and a spoon, we scooped out the seeds and discarded them. We then scooped out the rest of the pulp, leaving the skin and a little flesh. We chopped up the pulp and set it aside.

For the sauce we sautéd a finely chopped onion in some olive oil. Once the onion soften and turn translucent, we added the chopped aubergine pulp and stirred for a few minutes. We stirred in some minced lamb and cooked it until brown. We stirred chopped tomatoes, fresh parsley and mint, chopped garlic, and some seasoning. We let the sauce simmer for about 20 minutes until reduced, then removed it from the heat and it set aside.

For the béchamel sauce we warmed some whole milk in a pan with half an onion studded with cloves, a pinch of nutmeg and white pepper. In another saucepan we melted butter on low heat. As soon as it was melted and warm we added flour and stirred with a wooden spoon until there were no lumps. We then added the warm milk slowly, stirring constantly until the sauce thickened.

We then lightly sautéd the aubergine halves in olive oil until softened. We then placed them in a baking dish and spooned in the filling to the top of the side rims. We then spread over the béchamel sauce and crumbled over some feta cheese and more fresh mint.

We then baked them in the oven until the béchamel was browned and the aubergines were soft. Smaller aubergines could be used for serving as starters.