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Papoutsakia (Greek Stuffed Eggplant)

Papoutsakia (Greek Stuffed Eggplant)

Catherine
These Papoutsakia (Greek Stuffed Eggplant) are a classic Greek comfort dish made by stuffing eggplant with a seasoned ground beef mixture and topping it with a smooth béchamel before baking them to perfection.
5 from 4 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Greek
Servings 4 servings
Calories 569 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the eggplant:

  • 4 medium eggplants
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • salt and pepper

For the ground beef mixture:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 onion chopped
  • 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 1 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/8 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • salt and pepper to taste

For the bechamel:

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 cups milk warmed
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon mizithra or parmesan cheese, grated
  • salt to taste
  • pinch nutmeg

To serve

  • 1 tablespoon parsley chopped

Instructions
 

For the eggplants:

  • Preheat the oven to 400F and line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (depending on the size of your baking pans, you may need to use 2 to fit the eggplants).
  • Slice the eggplants in half lengthwise and remove the stems. Score the cut sides of the eggplants with a knife using a crisscross pattern, leaving a 1 cm border around the edges (as pictured in the blog post) and being careful not to cut all the way through.
  • Brush the cut sides of the eggplants with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the eggplant slices with the cut side down on the baking sheet(s) and bake in the oven for approximately 40 minutes or until softened. Remove the eggplants and flip them over. Gently press down the inside of the eggplant (where you had scored it in a crisscross pattern) to make an indentation where the filling will go.

For the ground beef mixture:

  • While the eggplant is baking, prepare the ground beef filling. Heat the olive oil into a skillet and add the chopped onion. Sauté, stirring frequently until they begin to turn translucent and then add the ground beef, stirring often and breaking up bigger clumps. Once the ground beef is browned, add the tomato paste, water, parsley, oregano, sugar, salt, pepper and cinnamon stick. Cook, stirring frequently for about 8-10 minutes or until the water evaporates.
  • Spoon the ground beef mixture into the eggplant indentations.

For the béchamel sauce:

  • Next, prepare the béchamel sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour, stirring until it makes a thick paste or roux. Add the milk slowly, whisking continuously as you do so. Whisk until the béchamel sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon, then remove it from the heat. Whisk in the egg yolks, mizithra, salt and nutmeg.
  • Spoon the béchamel sauce on top of the ground beef filling and bake the papoutsakia in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until golden. If you wish to get more color, you can place under the broiler for a few minutes, keeping a close eye to ensure they do not burn. [Note: if you are using the broiler option, be sure to remove the parchment paper as it may burn under the high heat.]
  • Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.

Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.

Nutrition

Calories: 569kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 21gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 182mgSodium: 259mgPotassium: 1452mgFiber: 15gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 1030IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 235mgIron: 3mg

The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.

Keyword bechamel, eggplant, greek food, ground beef
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