This is one of the most iconic Ottoman Palace recipes that has a long history behind it. As I always say, Ottoman cuisine is the epitome of fusion cuisine, this is a very simple example. The backstory of this dish goes like this:
In the
My version of this iconic dish is with meatballs
Ingredients-
Eggplant Puree
4 large eggplants (
4 tablespoons of plain flour
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons of cream
a pinch of grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons grated goat cheese.
Meat Balls in tomato sauce
1 kg Minced meat (50% beef, 50% lamb or any fattier meat)
1 cup fine bulgur
1 tablespoon red pepper paste
1 egg
a bunch of parsley fine chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 cups of Tomato sauce (you can use Italian pasta sauce or make your own as in this blog)
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Directions
Grill the eggplants (preferably on a charcoal grill) until they are soft enough for a fork to pierce them since we like that smoky taste. Cooking them in the oven would also work, stab the eggplants before you put them in the oven and cook at 180C for about 45 minutes. Peel the skin chop the eggplants with a knife or mash with a wooden spoon.
Melt the butter in a large skillet, add the flour, stirring constantly until it is golden brown then slowly add milk and nutmeg. Add the eggplants. Continue stirring for 5 more minutes than add the cream and turn the heat off and add grated cheese. This will be your base.
Boil the tomato sauce on the side. When it boils add the meatballs, cook on moderate heat for about 30 minutes.
Serve over the eggplant puree.
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