This is a twist on a classic Greek dish. I have always wondered about this recipe since watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but the eggplant always was questionable for me. Well, eggplant is a new vegetable I wanted to try so I thought this would be a great opportunity and I found a low carb version. It is definitely an interesting dish, but it tasted good. It is a bit higher carb than I usually do so I made the portions smaller and added some greens.
The ingredients:
Meat Mixture:
1lb eggplant
1/4 C olive oil
1 chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 TBSP ground cinnamon
1 TBSP paprika powder
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 lb ground meat
1/2 C tomato sauce
Cheese sauce:
1/2 C heavy cream
3 oz cream cheese
1 garlic glove, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
2 C gouda cheese divided
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
The recipe:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Chop the eggplant into 1/2 inch cubes. Leave skin on. Fry in olive oil over medium heat.
Add the onion, garlic, cinnamon, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper. Fry for a few minutes until softened and browned. Add the meat and fry until cooked through. Stir in the tomato sauce and simmer for a few minutes.
In a saucepan, combine the heavy cream, cream cheese, garlic, salt, and half of the gouda.
Simmer for a few minutes until it thickens. Add the ground nutmeg and stir well.
Transfer the meat mixture to a baking dish and pour the cheese sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining gouda cheese.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until cheese turns golden.
Serve with leafy greens.
I used lamb for this dish.
For the cheese sauce, I would use fresh garlic instead of garlic powder.
I used crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce.
For the greens, I used arugula.
