Meat Stuffed eggplants

How to prepare some aubergines stuffed with meat. Mallorcan Tumbet, Ratatouille, vegetable ratatouille , alboronía, in all these recipes we can find an ingredient that we love at home , the eggplant .

Today I am going to prepare aubergines stuffed with meat with bechamel . It is a very simple recipe, different from the stuffed aubergines that I presented to you on the blog a long time ago, in this case I have prepared them in half lengthwise.

This dish, although easy, requires a little more of our time in front of the stove, but the result is worth it and dedication. It is also a great alternative for the tupper of the week, because you can gratinate it at home and give it a heat stroke in the office micro. Since it has béchamel, it will always be very juicy.

In this case I have prepared a great alternative to make the bechamel. All you have to do is link the meat with a little flour, liquid cream and a pinch of nutmeg. The meat will be more compact, but extraordinarily juicy.

Eggplant  is a very versatile ingredient for many recipes, on the blog you can find our  famous mutabal  or  a  Greek mousse .

Vegetable and vegetable fillings are a gourmet wardrobe, as you can see in stuffed zucchini . The use of aubergine as a container of its own meat plus the accompaniment of meat, fish or simply vegetables, makes us find ourselves before a dish that covers all nutritional needs and at the same time is most tasty.

Preparation of the stuffed eggplant filling

1. We chop the onion, the garlic cloves and the carrot, very small. We put it to sauté in a large deep pan. Add a generous stream of olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan.
2. We fry everything for 15 minutes until it reduces liquid and all the ingredients are poached. It should be the onion and garlic with a golden hue and the carrot is very tender, it will be waiting for the meat.
3. Season the minced meat with salt and pepper and mix it with the strips of ham.
4. When the sofrito is ready we add the mixture of meat and ham.
5. Sauté over low heat, with the rest of the ingredients for 7 minutes until reduced.
6. When the meat turns brown, add the two heaping tablespoons of flour and the cream.
7. We stir until the ingredients are well linked. Add a pinch of nutmeg.
8. We mix and, if we wish, add a little more cream, to taste! For the very salseros. If you like that the meat is left with a little more sauce.
9. You can add a little more liquid cream (2 or 3 tablespoons or 50 ml), until the béchamel mixes with the minced meat to your liking.
10. In case you spend adding cream, do not panic !, one more tablespoon of flour and arranged matter. We rectify the point of salt and reserve.

Preparation of eggplants for filling

1. We prepare the eggplants. We wash the aubergines, we remove the tail and we open them to the center. To remove the bitterness a little, fill a large bowl with water with plenty of salt, about 3 tablespoons.
2. We leave the eggplants resting in this water for 15 minutes to remove the bitterness that the meat of the eggplant could have.
3. We wash the pieces of eggplant and dry them with absorbent paper.
4. We carefully empty each half. It is best to do it with a small teaspoon or a knife leaving a little pulp surrounding the skin.
5. In this way it will remain firm in the subsequent baking and in addition to being rich they will be beautiful. The gap should be just enough to have a good space that we can fill later.
6. In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil with a little salt. When the water boils, add the eggplants.
7. When the water returns to the boil, we cover them and leave about 5 minutes or until the meat of the eggplant is tender.
8. Once we have the aubergines at their point we make a little hole to fill them. We empty them with a dessert spoon or an apple drainer. We scrape with great care so as not to spoil the vegetable too much and always leaving at least a finger of eggplant. It has to be left with enough pulp.
9. We mince the eggplant that we have taken out and we combine it with the meat filling, very well so that they bring the flavors together. We reserve the mixture on a plate for the subsequent filling.

Baking and presentation of stuffed aubergines

1. We preheat the oven to 180 ° C in the gratin position.
2. Spread a large baking dish with a little butter and put the eggplants on top. Fill the aubergines with the mixture that we have reserved and put a little cheese on top of the meat to gratin.
3. Put the eggplants in the oven and leave them, at 200 ° C in the gratin position.
4. We leave them until the cheese turns a dark golden or brown tone. We serve fresh from the oven.

You can see all the photos of the step by step in the next album.