Eggplant boats with minced meat and ajvar
blue eggplant, eggplant, meat dinner
September 10, 2019
The secret of the best ajvar lies in the superior quality of peppers and long simmering on steady flame, but we prefer to say that the key to the best dish is a couple of tablespoons of ajvar. So we invite you to try our variation of this adored classic of home-cooked meal ─ stuffed blue eggplant.
An irresistibly tasty, juicy blend of rich vegetables and meat, thick sauce and crunchy cheese crust becomes even more delightful if we add a couple of tablespoons of ajvar. As things go, eggplant and red peppers are old connoisseurs, so such culinary fusion was only a matter of time, right?
Blue eggplant is easy to prepare and quick to bake. Regardless of the way you prepare it, in the crust or without it, roasted, fried, breaded or stewed, it is only important to draw the liquid out from the eggplant. Otherwise, it can be stringy, too fat and even bitter. So, after you have sliced the eggplant, salt it well, preferably with large-grained salt and leave it to aside. It should be left for fifteen minutes minimum or even longer. Then gently pick up the excess water with a napkin and start preparing the eggplant.
- Prep: 40 mins
- Cook: 15 mins
- Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 medium sized blue eggplants
1 onion
300g of minced meat
500g of tomato sauce – pelati
3 tablespoons of ajvar
100g of grated parmesan
salt, pepper, olive oil
a bond of fresh parsley
Directions
Slice the blue eggplants lengthwise, cut the inside of each half with the tip of a sharp knife to make it easier to hollow them out later, sprinkle eggplants with salt and let them soften and expel the excess liquid for at least 15 minutes. Then absorb the excess liquid from the eggplant with a napkin, gently pull out the eggplant halves using a knife and place them in a deeper fireproof container.
Finely chop the eggplant pulp and fry it with a couple of tablespoons of oil along with the chopped onions and minced meat. Season with a little salt and pepper, and when it is done mix it with ajvar and fill each half of the eggplant with this mixture. Pour the cooked tomato sauce over the stuffed eggplants and sprinkle each with a little bit of grated parmesan.
Bake the eggplants in an oven preheated to 200C for about 15 minutes or until nice cheese crust appears , and sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley before serving.
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