Hi there!
Remember how as kids we were often told that unless we finished off every last morsel of food placed in front of us, we would be denied our fair share of something sweet?
I openly admit that I have a sweet tooth (albeit a selective one). I remember being told that I got this from my grandma, however I obviously enjoy savoury food just as much, and if not more, sometimes.
Today i am sharing with you a recipe for stuffed aubergines. In Greece, they are called papoutsakia, which translates very loosely to "little shoes". I got my first taste of papoutsakia while on holiday in Koroni (Greece) last summer.
It was literally love at first taste. I loved them and I instantly developed a condition known as papoutsakia love.
It took me quite a while till I got round to finding the time to make them at home and the opportunity came round this week. I came across some purple beauties at the veggie store and as soon as I laid eyes on them I got this mental image of aubergine shells stuffed with a beautifully thick salsa bolognese, topped off with a nice dollop of bechamel sauce, and finally a layer of finely grated cheeeeeseee :) .... So basically I had no choice, the time had finally come!!
I made my papoutsakia one weeknight without much preparation and planning. I returned home at 20.00 well armed with my fresh pork mince and I started to wonder whether we would actually get to taste them that evening since I really had no idea how long all this would take!
I started with the Bolognese sauce, and then realised that I only had one jar of store-bought Napoletana sauce and one can of regular tomato (polpa di pomodoro) sauce.
"How silly am I?", not to have thought this through, I thought to myself. Alas, I was so determined that I did my best to ignore the moment of great hesitation/disappointment that was about to descend upon me.
The Bolognese sauce turned out really nice, and I vowed to myself that next time I would use fresh tomatoes. For the time being, all was well in the kitchen - I excused myself for using ready-made Napoletana sauce!
Then came the béchamel-sauce-dilemma. I am going to be brutally honest with you. I was starting to run out of time and the little carton of soya béchamel in my pantry started to suddenly seem like a godsend.
So, once again I excused myself a little bit more, and decided to try out this recipe using soya béchamel for two out of four aubergine halves.
From the begninning of this mini-kitchen-adventure, I had decided not to follow recipes, so when it came to popping the "little shoes" in the oven I became a bit hesitant. This is where I opted to check out what other recipes on the web were suggesting. In the end all turned out well, all four of the "little shoes" were a dose of delight in their own right :)
The lovely scent emanating from the oven took me back and made me reminisce of that time in Koroni, when under the shade of an olive tree, with the most gorgeous view to the Ionian sea, I first got introduced to a sweet little pair of papoutsakia.
here's my extremely improvised recipe for "little shoes"
preparation time: around 45 minutes
baking time: 40-50 minutes
ingredients:
Preheat oven to 175 degrees celcius.
While the sauce is simmering, take your aubergines, slice them in half (length-wise) and using a small paring knife slice around the perimeter of the aubergine, make lines inside (where the seeds are) so that you end up with a kind of chess-like pattern and using a tablespoon scoop out the soft tissue/seeds. Once you have done this you should end up with 4 aubergine shells. Rub some olive oil on their insides and some rock salt and place them in a well oiled oven-proof dish.
We ate ours with a big fat slab of Feta (the real stuff) on the side, and nothing else. However you may wish to prepare a side of white basmati rice, or maybe baked potatoes or even fried potatoes (if you're feeling naughty). It's up to you really!
EnjoY !!!!!!!!!!!
Remember how as kids we were often told that unless we finished off every last morsel of food placed in front of us, we would be denied our fair share of something sweet?
Today i am sharing with you a recipe for stuffed aubergines. In Greece, they are called papoutsakia, which translates very loosely to "little shoes". I got my first taste of papoutsakia while on holiday in Koroni (Greece) last summer.
It was literally love at first taste. I loved them and I instantly developed a condition known as papoutsakia love. It took me quite a while till I got round to finding the time to make them at home and the opportunity came round this week. I came across some purple beauties at the veggie store and as soon as I laid eyes on them I got this mental image of aubergine shells stuffed with a beautifully thick salsa bolognese, topped off with a nice dollop of bechamel sauce, and finally a layer of finely grated cheeeeeseee :) .... So basically I had no choice, the time had finally come!!
I made my papoutsakia one weeknight without much preparation and planning. I returned home at 20.00 well armed with my fresh pork mince and I started to wonder whether we would actually get to taste them that evening since I really had no idea how long all this would take!
I started with the Bolognese sauce, and then realised that I only had one jar of store-bought Napoletana sauce and one can of regular tomato (polpa di pomodoro) sauce.
"How silly am I?", not to have thought this through, I thought to myself. Alas, I was so determined that I did my best to ignore the moment of great hesitation/disappointment that was about to descend upon me.
The Bolognese sauce turned out really nice, and I vowed to myself that next time I would use fresh tomatoes. For the time being, all was well in the kitchen - I excused myself for using ready-made Napoletana sauce!
Then came the béchamel-sauce-dilemma. I am going to be brutally honest with you. I was starting to run out of time and the little carton of soya béchamel in my pantry started to suddenly seem like a godsend.
So, once again I excused myself a little bit more, and decided to try out this recipe using soya béchamel for two out of four aubergine halves.
From the begninning of this mini-kitchen-adventure, I had decided not to follow recipes, so when it came to popping the "little shoes" in the oven I became a bit hesitant. This is where I opted to check out what other recipes on the web were suggesting. In the end all turned out well, all four of the "little shoes" were a dose of delight in their own right :)
The lovely scent emanating from the oven took me back and made me reminisce of that time in Koroni, when under the shade of an olive tree, with the most gorgeous view to the Ionian sea, I first got introduced to a sweet little pair of papoutsakia.
here's my extremely improvised recipe for "little shoes"
preparation time: around 45 minutes
baking time: 40-50 minutes
ingredients:
- 2 medium-sized aubergines - you will end up with four portions
- 400g minced lean pork
- 1 can regular tomato sauce (polpa di pomodoro)
- 1 jar ready-made Napoletana sauce - guilty-as-charged!
- 2 medium sized onions - very finely chopped
- 1 tsp curry powder
- pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground rock salt (groundcoarse sea salt)
- 2 tbsp tomato concentrate
- 2-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- grated kefalotyri cheese (around 3 tbsp per aubergine half)
- 1 small carton soya bechamel sauce
Preheat oven to 175 degrees celcius.
While the sauce is simmering, take your aubergines, slice them in half (length-wise) and using a small paring knife slice around the perimeter of the aubergine, make lines inside (where the seeds are) so that you end up with a kind of chess-like pattern and using a tablespoon scoop out the soft tissue/seeds. Once you have done this you should end up with 4 aubergine shells. Rub some olive oil on their insides and some rock salt and place them in a well oiled oven-proof dish.
Fill your aubergine shells with the thick Bolognese sauce. Be generous. You will enjoy the mouthfulls of crusty-piping-hot Bolognese ;)
The next step for me was to add the ready-made soya béchamel. It will drip off the top of aubergines but it won't affect the final result. You may opt to just put a more generous amount of grated cheese and you will end up with a very nice crust just the same. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the soya Bechamel sauce. Once again - be generous - you'll appreciate it later :)
Now its time to pop your "little shoes" in your hot oven, where they will stay for the next 40-50 minutes. I kept the baking dish covered with pierced aluminium foil for the first 20 minutes and uncovered it for the rest of the time. Baking time depends on how thick your aubergine shells were to begin with. I would say check on them after 40 minutes and take it from there. You can be the judge :)
Once baking time is over, let the papoutsakia rest for a while before you serve them.
We ate ours with a big fat slab of Feta (the real stuff) on the side, and nothing else. However you may wish to prepare a side of white basmati rice, or maybe baked potatoes or even fried potatoes (if you're feeling naughty). It's up to you really!
Notes: In retrospect, and after reviewing other recipes on the web, I would have sauteed the raw aubergine shells in a little bit of olive oil, prior to filling them up. This helps them soften, and I guess it would even cut down on their time in the oven. I would also have used the aubergine 'insides' in the Bolognese sauce.
Also, next time I'll be making a real Bechamel sauce, and I plan on making the one described by Peter G. of Souvlaki For the Soul. Check out his post for the papoutsakia recipe. Amazing food photography. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G !!!
No comments:
Post a Comment