Papoutsakia

Sometimes I think my guardian angel is an old greek lady. My cousin Mike once told me that everyone in our family has an ancestor from generations prior that act as their guardian angel. Somehow I always find the obscure ingredients, procure the perfect produce, and even when I have no clue what I am doing...I find my hands moving along anyway. It must mean my spirit follower is an old lady. One of those recipes where I had no clue what I was doing was this recipe for papoutsakia. A little difficult to make, but definitely worth it. After all, you know what they say, after moussaka, pastitsio, and souvlaki...the next best thing is papoutsakia! 

These eggplants are seasoned, stuffed with meat, covered with my favorite beshamel sauce and then baked to perfection. They are delicious and resemble adorable tiny shoes! Papoutsakia even means "little shoes" in Greek! They are fun to eat and your guests will love how they look! 

Ingredients: 

2 eggplants, halved lengthwise 

1 cup olive oil 

1 onion, grated 

1 lb 2 oz ground beef 

1 cup of canned crushed tomato 

1 tablespoon of parsley  

4 slices of tomato 

Salt and pepper 

2 tsp cinnamon 

Ingredients for béchamel: 

4 cups of milk 

4 tbsp butter 

4 tbsp flour 

2 egg yolks 

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese 

Pinch of ground nutmeg  

Directions: 

1. Cut your eggplants lengthwise. Make slits with a knife into the meaty half of each eggplant. Make sure you do not pierce the skin. Sprinkle generously with salt and let sit to drain for 1-2 hours. 

2. After 2 hours, squeeze the excess moisture out gently and rinse under cold water. 

3. Using a skillet or frying pan, heat half of the oil (1/2 cup) and brown the eggplants on each side for 5-10 minutes on low heat. Remove and set aside, let sit on paper towel to absorb excess oil. When cool, use a fork and spoon to scrape out the flesh of the eggplant. Be 

 careful not to rip the skin. Keep the meat of the eggplant in a seperate bowl. 

4. Add the remaining oil into the skillet and sauté the eggplant insides set aside from before and onions on high and then low heat for about five minutes. Add in your meat and stir well. Make sure to break up the meat, and cook until it is brown, about 10 minutes. Add your cinnamon, tomatoes, and parsely and mix well. Reduce the heat, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce is reduced. 

When ready, take off heat and let cool. 

5. Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare the white sauce. Pour the milk into a small pan, bring to a boil and remove from heat. In a seperate pan, melt your butter and slowly add in your flour.  Stirring constantly in circular motions around the circumference of the pan. Add in your hot milk one ladle at a time stirring constantly with a whisk until all the milk is added. Cook for 15 minutes or until it is thick and smooth. The thicker the better. Add nutmeg, cheese and the 2 egg yolks and whisk well. Cook for another 5 minutes. Set aside. (If you take a long time to fill your eggplants, reheat your sauce quickly and add a teaspoon extra of milk). 

6. Fill your eggplant shells with an evenly divided amount of meat mixture. You will have extra. 

7. Using a ladle, pour bechamel sauce into each eggplant shell. It should be evenly covered. 

8. Add a slice of the tomato to each stuffed eggplant. Sprinkle with a handful of cheese. 

9. Bake for about one hour until the tops are golden brown. Serve immediately. Enjoy! 

With any leftover meat, I made a pastitsio pie! Just made some extra bechemel sauce and cooked it along with the papoutsakia.