Greek Stuffed Eggplant Halves "Papoutsakia" (The Little Shoes")

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Greek Stuffed Eggplant Halves "Papoutsakia" delivers the same wonderful Mediterranean medley of flavors that you love in Moussaka (see    • Greek Moussaka (traditional casserole...  ) with less overall prep and cooking time. "Papoutsakia" means “The Little Shoes" in Greek because the eggplant halves look like shoes or slippers.

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Ingredients
Eggplants preparation:
► 2 large Eggplants
► 1/3 cup of olive oil
► Salt pepper

Meat sauce
► 1 Ib of ground beef
► 1 medium onion
► 2 tbsp of butter
► 1 tsp of salt
► 1/2 tsp of pepper
► 1/2 tsp all spice
► 1/2 tsp of all spice
► 1/4 tsp of nutmeg

Tomato sauce:
► 4 peeled tomatoes and 1 tbsp of tomato paste blended together. See    • Homemade Tomato Sauce - a basic ingre...  
► Blend them together

Bechamel sauce:
► 5 tbsp of butter
► 5 tbsp of flour
► 2 eggs
► 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
► 2 cups of milk
► 1 tsp of salt
► 1/2 tsp of pepper
► 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions
Prepare the eggplant halves
1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
2) Cut the eggplant into 2 halves.
3) Cut the eggplant meat in diagonal lines but not all the way through to the bottom.
4) Add some salt and pepper
5) Use the olive oil to drizzle some on top and massage some more on the bottom.
6) Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes.

Meat sauce:
1) In a frying pan, fry the onion in 2 tbsp of butter then add the onion.
2) When the onion becomes golden yellow, add the meat.
3) Stir then add the spices and keep mixing until there is no liquid left.
4) Add the tomato sauce, cover and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Bechamel sauce:
1) Melt the butter, add the flour, and mix.
2) Add the milk and keep mixing with the whisk
3) Add salt pepper until it thickens up.
4) Add the cheese and 2 whisked eggs and turn off the burner.

Assembling the dish:

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F
2) With a fork smash the middle of the baked eggplant to create a bowl of space for the meat sauce.
3) Add the meat sauce.
4) Add the bechamel on top.
5) Bake it in a 400 F preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Enjoy!

‪@nancysmediterraneankitchen‬

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