Baked Eggplant with Meat and Cheese
Eggplant stuffed with meat stuffing is a famous dish in Austrian cuisine, which has absorbed the best of Hungarian, German, Czech and Balkan national dishes.
Ingredients
- 300 geggplants
- 200 glamb
- 1 onion
- 1 tomato
- 50 gtomato paste
- 50 grice
- 40 gvegetable oil
- 50 gsour cream
- 50 ghard cheese
- 1 clovegarlic
- to tastegreen salad, parsley, pepper, salt
Method
- Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, remove some of the flesh and rub the inside with salt. After 30 minutes, rinse with cold water.
- Put the meat through a meat grinder. Chop the eggplant flesh, onion, parsley and peeled tomatoes. Grind garlic. Boil the rice in plenty of salted water and drain. Grate the cheese.
- In a frying pan, fry onion in oil, then eggplant flesh and minced meat. Add tomatoes, rice, garlic, herbs and heat under a lid for a few minutes. Dress with sour cream, season with pepper and salt. Fill the eggplant halves with the stuffing. Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
- Heat the oven to 190°C before you start filling. Put the eggplants in an oiled baking dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Then pour tomato paste diluted in 100 g of water into the dish and bake for another 5–10 minutes, until the cheese is golden and a fork slides into the eggplant without resistance.
- Before serving, decorate with fresh tomatoes, lettuce and parsley leaves.
FAQ
Young eggplants — no need. Larger ones are better sliced, salted and left for 20 minutes: bitterness and excess moisture will come out. Pat dry with paper towel before baking — otherwise the eggplants will steam in their own juice rather than roast.
Yes. Beef mince gives a more neutral flavor, chicken mince a lighter one. Lamb is traditional in this recipe and gives it a characteristic Eastern aroma. If using beef, add a little more spice — cumin or coriander — to make up for the difference in flavor.
Most likely too much liquid from the tomatoes or meat juices. Add tomato paste in small amounts. The mince needs to be fried properly beforehand until browned — all moisture must be cooked off. And bake uncovered so moisture can escape freely.
Yes. Greek yoghurt is the best substitute: less fatty but equally thick. Mayonnaise also works but makes the dish heavier. Sour cream or yoghurt with garlic on top of the baked eggplants acts as both a sauce and a finishing touch at the same time.
Go by appearance: the cheese should be melted and golden, and the edges of the eggplant soft. In a preheated oven at 190°C that takes 25–30 minutes in total: 20 minutes, then another 5–10 with the tomato sauce. Check with a fork — the eggplant should pierce easily with no resistance.
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Comments (1)
Cut the eggplants slightly larger than your instinct suggests for baked eggplant with meat and cheese. Vegetables shrink substantially during cooking. What looks oversized raw will be perfectly portioned on the plate.