Aubergine in the oven
Ingredients for 4 people
4 aubergines • 300 g minced meat (half veal, half pork) • 2 cloves of garlic • 1 dry bay leaf • 50g butter • 100 g flour • 1/2 litre full cream milk • 1 pinch nutmeg • 1/2 kg peeled tomatoes • 16 tbsp olive oil • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 tbsp sugar • 50 g dry Mahon cheese
Preparation
-
- Cut the aubergines lengthwise in medium slices, place them in a strainer, salt and leave to settle. Grate the cheese.
- For the béchamel, heat the milk on a low heat, melt the butter in a pan at medium heat, add 40 g of flour and while stirring continuously add the milk. Salt, sprinkle with nutmeg and reduce the heat. Cook for 10 minutes and set aside.
- Make a tomato sauce, cooking the chopped tomatoes in a pan with 4 tbsps of olive oil, salt and sugar for 30 minutes over low heat.
- Peel and chop the garlic after having removed its core, mix it with the meat and stir-fry for 15 minutes with 4 tbsps of olive oil and the chopped bay leaf. Add 3–4 spoonfuls of béchamel and set aside.
- Place the remaining oil in a pan and when hot fry the aubergines; when done place them on kitchen paper.
- Spread meat on one end of the aubergine slice and roll it Repeat with all the aubergines.
- Put some béchamel and tomato sauce at the bottom of the casserole but do not mix the 2 sauces. Place the aubergine rolls in layers, pouring the sauces in between layers.
- Start oven grill, sprinkle with cheese and heat under the broiler until brown.
Aubergine in the oven recipe can be made with different fillings, like fish or meat with fried vegetables (onions, tomatoes and garlic).
Some people prefer cutting the aubergines in halves, boiling them quickly, emptying them and filling them with the mixture of meat and chopped aubergine pulp. The most traditional aubergine recipe in Menorca.
Original aubergine in the oven recipe from the book Minorca. Cooking and gastronomy. Triangle Postals. Photography: Oriol Aleu
See all recipes of Menorcan cuisine.
The traditional cuisine of Menorca is characterised by its rural roots and is based on the Mediterranean diet. Even so, it has successfully integrated the heritage of the different cultures that have left their mark throughout history.
In Minorca you can find two types of lobster, the rock one, smaller and bright red, very tasty because of the food rich in essential elements they consume; and…
Ray is very much appreciated on the island. We normally eat the fins, but the liver is also delicious. When you buy it, ask the fishmonger to cut and peel it…
Although the name of the recipe mentions rice, the main ingredient of the dish is the cracked wheat in a stone mortar. An Arab heritage, typical of Menorca and is traditionally made day of pig slaughter.
Some people prefer cutting the aubergines in halves, boiling them quickly, emptying them and filling them with the mixture of meat and chopped aubergine pulp.
This recipe was made with “crancs peluts”, which nowadays is a protected species of crab. Some people prepare it with “cranca”, spider crab, crushing its guts as it gives a lot of taste to the dish
The cuttlefish liver is the brown bag you find inside the cuttlefish and even though it is not always used, it is the liver which really gives the flavour to this dish.
Minorca is known for her numerous fig trees and the abundance of local varieties (“figaflor”, “coll de dama”, “bordissot”, …). The first one to ripen, at the end of June is “figaflor” the most valued.
One option is to prepare all the vegetables peeled and sliced, and the dish will be more complete. You can finish cooking in the oven, spread as usual.
The pearl onions are the ones called French onions in Spain. To prevent their layers from falling apart, you must peel them carefully and leave the peduncle in which its roots are fixed.
We recommend freezing the octopus and the cuttlefish so they are more tender and do not need to be beaten. Some recommend cooking it first in water with some bay leaves and leaving it to cool down in the same water.
El moniato, o monyaco, és un producte molt consumit a l’illa, i es prepara tant en salat com en múltiples plats dolços, com ara bunyols i púdings. També és habitual preparar aquesta recepta al caliu.
We recommend cutting the chicken in 8 pieces. If you prefer you can buy whole almonds and crush them yourself in the mortar or use a blender with the toasted bread and garlic.
It is very important to strain the cooked pumpkin completely before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients. The oven tray or mould must be shallow.
You can serve this dish with fried potatoes and a fresh tomato salad. You can either fry the potatoes in deep oil or in a mixture of oil and lard; fry them with cloves of garlic and bay leaves.
“De re cibaria” says that the flour should be lightly toasted. To achieve this, toast it in a pan with no liquid, at medium heat and stirring all the time until it gets a light brown colour.