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Stuffed Eggplants (Papoutsakia)

Papoutsakia, stuffed eggplant

Ingredients
10-12 round eggplants
1 large onion, grated
3-4 eggs
250 grams grated regato cheese, or any other sweet cheese
1 bunch of parsley
1 fresh tomato, mashed
2 spoons sugar
Salt
Bechamel Sauce or hard tack for placing on top of each eggplant
Olive oil

Bechamel Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cups milk, heated
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown — about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat. To cool this sauce for later use, cover it with wax paper or pour a film of milk over it to prevent a skin from forming. You can also add some kaseri cheese.

Directions

Wash eggplants, score them in the middle and boil until soft. Strain them, let them cool and cut them a long side. Remove with the spoon the inner part of each eggplant and leave them only with their skin. Keep half of the inner part of the eggplant and whiz it in a blender to make a puree.

Boil in a saucepan the onion and when it softens pour some olive oil. Add the eggplant puree, parsley, tomato, sugar and salt. Stir well and remove from heat after a couple of minutes.

Beat the eggs and pour over the mixture. Add the cheese and stir the mixture well. With this mixture you should stuff each piece of eggplant.

After you stuff all the eggplants cover them with béchamel sauce or with hard tack.

Baste a baking pan with oil, place the eggplants into it and bake for 30 minutes in moderate temperature. (Around 325f)

This recipe comes from Panayotis Papanicholaou who is a well known chef and artist in Athens and Mykonos where he has opened several restaurants including the popular O Bakalogatos in Fokionos Negri, Kypseli. He is available for consultation or work if you want to open a Greek restaurant and need a first class chef. Contact him by e-mail

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