Greek mince & brinjal bake/ Griekse maalvleisgebak

Recipe
Greek mince & brinjal bake
Recipe from Make five/Maak vyf
Serves 4 – 6
A tasty mince mixture is such a convenient recipe to have in your kitchen. With one or two small changes you can have a whole new meal ready in no time. I enjoy a mince mixture with a rich tomato flavour and it shouldn’t be too watery. The tomato paste in the recipe plays an important role in doing this and the red wine gives a lovely rich colour and flavour to the meat. Grated carrots are also a fabulous ingredient to add colour, a naturally sweet flavour and extra volume. Fresh herbs are essential for a basic mince mixture. The flavours in this mince can be easily adapted like in this Greek version. It uses lots of origanum, mint and brinjal, three of my favourite ingredients! This is then layered with pan-fried brinjal and a bit of cheese.
Ingredients
50 ml olive oil
500 g lean beef mince
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 carrots, coarsely grated
1 bay leaf
10 ml (2 tsp) ground coriander
1 x 50 g packet tomato paste
1 x 410 g tin chopped tomatoes
125 ml (½ cup) red wine or strong Rooibos
80 ml (⅓ cup) chopped fresh herbs of your choice, like Italian parsley, origanum, thyme and sage
lemon juice and finely grated lemon rind, salt and pepper to taste
30 ml (2 tbsp) each coarsely chopped fresh mint and origanum
150 g cherry tomatoes, whole or halved
2 large brinjals, halved lengthwise and sliced
50 g (125 ml) finely grated parmesan, pecorino or mature white cheddar cheese
Method
- Heat 15 ml of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium temperature and fry the mince until golden brown – do this in batches if the pan or pot is not that big. Spoon out and set aside.
- Sauté onion and garlic for a few minutes in the same pan. Stir in carrots, bay leaf and coriander and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and sauté for 1-2 minutes to thicken slightly.
- Stir in the browned mince with the tomatoes and rinse out the empty tin with some of the wine or tea. Stir in the rest of the liquid with the herbs and season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat and simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes or until cooked. Season to taste if needed. Mix the cherry tomatoes in.
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Meanwhile, heat a thin layer of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and fry brinjal in batches until light brown, but not completely cooked. Spoon out and repeat with the rest of the brinjal and oil, but don’t be tempted to use too much oil.
- Spoon half of the mince in a 15 x 23 cm oven dish and place half of the brinjal in a single layer on top. Spoon the rest of the mince on top and end with a layer of brinjal.
- Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and heated through. Serve with a salad or some green veggies.
Tips
- If you haven’t prepared the mince beforehand, start by frying the brinjal and then prepare the mince in the same pan.
- Stir cubes of feta cheese into the mince with the cherry tomatoes and omit the cheese on top.
- This mince recipe is also perfect to double up and freeze half for later.
Resep
Griekse maalvleisgebak
Resep uit Make five/Maak vyf
Lewer 4 – 6 porsies
Met ’n geurige maalvleismengsel kan mens soveel doen. Bak dit in lae met gebraaide eiervrugskywe en sit dit met ’n groot groen slaai of net gestoomde boontjies of broccoli voor. Dis ’n vullende lae-koolhidraat-ete en jy gaan nie eers stysel mis nie.
Bestanddele
50 ml olyfolie
500 g maer beesmaalvleis
1 groot ui, gekap
2 knoffelhuisies, gekneus
2 wortels, grof gerasper
1 lourierblaar
10 ml (2 t) gemaalde koljander
1 x 50 g-pakkie tamatiepasta
1 x 410 g-blik gekapte tamaties
125 ml (½ k) rooiwyn of sterk Rooibos
80 ml (⅓ k) gekapte vars kruie van jou keuse bv. Italiaanse pietersielie, origanum, tiemie of salie
suurlemoensap, fyngerasperde suurlemoenskil, sout en swartpeper na smaak
30 ml (2 e) elk grofgekapte vars kruisement en origanum
150 g kersietamaties, heel of gehalveer
2 groot eiervrugte, in die lengte in dun skywe gesny
50 g (125 ml) fyngerasperde parmesan, pecorino- of beleë wit cheddarkaas
Metode
- Verhit 15 ml van die olie oor matige hitte in ’n groot kastrol. Braai die maalvleis in sarsies tot goudbruin. Skep uit en hou eenkant.
- Soteer ui en knoffel vir ’n paar minutein die kastrol. Roer die wortels, lourierblaar en koljander by en soteer vir 3-5 minute. Roer die tamatiepasta by en soteer vir 1-2 minute tot effens verdik.
- Roer die maalvleis met die tamaties by en spoel die leë blikkie met die wyn of Rooibos uit. Roer die vloeistof en kruie by.
- Prut maalvleis met die deksel vir 30 minute of tot gaar. Geur na smaak met suurlemoen, sout en peper. Roer die kersietamaties by.
- Voorverhit die oond tot 180 °C. Verhit intussen helfte van die orige olie oor matige hitte in ’n braaipan. Braai ’n paar eiervrugskywe op ’n keer tot ligbruin en amper gaar. Skep uit en herhaal met die res van die eiervrug en nog olie, indien nodig, maar moenie te veel olie gebruik nie. Geur die eiervrug met suurlemoensap en peper.
- Skep helfte van die maalvleis in ’n 15 x 23 cm oondvaste bak en pak die helfte van die eiervrug in ’n enkellaag bo-op.
- Skep die res van die maalvleis bo-oor en eindig met die orige eiervrug. Strooi die kaas oor.
- Bak vir 30 minute of tot goudbruin en deurwarm. Sit met ’n groen slaai of groen groente voor. Sien die wenke hier onder.
Image: Adel Ferreira Photography.
I love your recipes. This is the way I want to live.