Ingredients
Meat sauce:
• 4 large brinjals, sliced lengthways
• Olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 250g lamb or pork mince
• 350g lean beef mince
• 1 tbsp cumin
• Handful chopped oreganum
• 2 tbsp (30ml) tomato paste
• ½ cup (125ml) white wine
• 1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes
• ½ cup (125ml) beef stock
• Pinch sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
Béchamel:
• ⅓ cup (80ml) butter
• ½ cup (125ml) cake flour
• 2 cups (500ml) milk
• 100ml finely grated parmesan
• 2 extra large eggs, beaten
Preparation method
Meat sauce:
- Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large pan. Add onions, and fry for 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, mince and cumin. Stir fry until browned
- Add remaining ingredients, and simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, slice brinjals lengthways to a thickness of about 1cm. Brush with olive oil and season well. Grill or fry until golden and tender.
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
Béchamel:
- Melt butter in a non-stick pan, add flour and cook over a medium heat for 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer, stirring continuously for about 8 minutes, or until thickened.
- Stir in cheese and seasoning. Remove from heat.
- Dollop a spoon or two of the béchamel into the beaten eggs to prevent sauce from curdling. Cool slightly, and beat mixture into béchamel.
- Layer the base of a 2.75 litre ovenproof dish with sliced brinjals. Top with mince and another layer of brinjals. Finish with béchamel.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.