Stuffed Aubergine - Moussaka Style
The Dish
Stuffed Aubergine
Best for: Lunch, Dinner
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10
Cook time: 1 hour
This dish is inspired by one of my favourite greek dishes - moussaka. The spiced meat is slowly cooked to perfection and becomes so tender. All topped with a healthy version of a béchamel sauce.
Serve with a simple green salad - simply delicious.
The Recipe
Step 1
Pre heat the oven to fan 200 degrees C.
Peel and finely diced your onion. Add it to a large saucepan with a little olive oil, around 1 tbsp. Cook on a medium high heat for about 5-8 mins until your onions are soft.
Step 2
Once the onions are cooked, add the garlic and spices and cook for another minute, frequently stirring.
Now add your mince -break up the meat with a spatular or wooden spoon when it’s in the pan to ensure there are no large lumps. Cook until all of the meat has turned brown.
Now add the wine, tomatoes, stock cube, bay leaf, fresh thyme, sugar, salt and pepper and leave to simmer on a low heat for an hour.
Step 3
While the meat is cooking, prepare the aubergines. Slice the aubergines in half and score the flesh in a criss-cross pattern. Ensure not to cut all the way through to the skin.
Brush with a little olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and roast for 45-50mins until the flesh is super tender. Aubergines vary in size so cooking time may be slightly different here - but you are looking to get your aubergines soft so you can easily spoon out the flesh.
Once the aubergines are cooked, carefully spoon out the flesh leaving the skin fully intact. Add the aubergine flesh to the meat with the fresh chopped parsley and stir well- set a little parsley aside to sprinkle on top at the end.
Leave the aubergine skins on the baking tray.
Step 4
Now to make the topping. In a large bowl whisk together to yoghurt, ricotta, egg yolks, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Turn the oven up to 250 degrees C.
Remove the saucepan from the heat, check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if required. Spoon a good amount of the meat into each aubergine skin and then top with a couple of spoons of the yoghurt sauce. Then crumble a little feta on top. Bake for 15 mins until the topic just starting to turn lovely and golden.
While they are baking, toast the pinenuts. Take a dry frying pan on a high heat, add a handful of pinenuts and cook until the nuts just start to turn golden. This will take around 2 minutes, but keep your eyes on them and move them frequently as they turn super quickly.
Remove the aubergines from the oven and top with the toasted pinenuts and fresh chopped parsley.
The Ingredients
500g lean mince meat
1 large red onion
3 cloves garlic - minced
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 ground clove
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp brown sugar
3 sprigs fresh thyme
150ml red wine
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 beef stock cube
small bunch of parsley
Salt and pepper
2 large aubergines
Topping
100g plain greek yoghurt
100g ricotta cheese
2 egg yolks
sprinkle of nutmeg
Salt and pepper
70g feta
handful of pinenuts
