Aubergine Wrapped Meatballs with Tomato & Feta
Messy looks and unforgettable taste. This is the perfect description for this Mediterranean bake.
Sliced grilled aubergines wrapped around tender and flavourful meatballs and topped with sweet tomato and crumbled feta cheese.
You could describe this as a hybrid between a parmigiana and a moussaka or at least this was what I had in mind when I came up with this recipe. Delicious when eaten at room temperature and paired with a cold glass of white wine.
Ingredients
2 big aubergines
200g tomato passata
1 clove of garlic
Salt & Pepper
150g of feta
1 handful of thyme (fresh or dried)
For the meatballs
150g of beef mince
150g of pork mince
1 handful of parsley
1 tsp of salt
Pepper
2 slices of bread soaked in milk and squeezed
1 crushed clove of garlic
3 tbsp of parmesan
1/2 grated onion
1/2 tsp of paprika
1 egg
Step by Step
Slice the aubergines lengthwise. You want your slices to roughly be 0.5cm thick. Layer them in a colander and sprinkle each layer with salt. Let them rest like this for roughly 1h so you can get rid of the excess water.
After 1h heat up a griddle pan and brush it with olive oil. Grill the aubergines and set them aside
In a bowl mix all the meatball ingredients: add the meat, the chopped parsley, the egg, the crushed garlic, salt & pepper, the parmesan, the grated onion, the paprika and finally the two slices of bread previously soaked in milk and squeezed
Mix everything and form little oblong meatballs. You should roughly get 12
Wrap a grilled aubergine around each meatball and place them all next to each other in an oiled baking dish
In a separate bowl mix the passata with the garlic, salt and pepper and pour it in your dish with the meatballs
Crumble the feta on top, sprinkle the the thyme and add a drizzle of olive oil
Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 40 to 50 minutes
Enjoy!
Tips & cheats
Make sure you chose a good passata. It has to be sweet and thick.
Don’t skip the first step. Adding salt to the aubergines and letting them rest not only will allow you to get rid of any excess water but it will also help you get rid if the bitter aftertaste.
If you are not a bit Feta fan you can pick another cheese or just avoid the cheese completely.
Enjoy!