All the components for this dish can be prepared in advance, ready to assemble an hour or so before serving. Kefalotyri gives the dish its authenticity but you can use Cheddar or Gruyère instead. I like to serve a salad of finely sliced fennel, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion and lemon on the side.
SERVES 6
4 aubergines (about 300g each)
About 200ml light olive oil
2 large potatoes (about 400g in total), peeled and cut lengthways into 3mm slices
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
1 litre béchamel sauce (double quantity)
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg yolk
125g Kefalotyri cheese, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
For the filling
50ml light olive oil
400g lean beef, minced on a medium setting
1 onion (125g), finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 carrot (about 60g), finely diced
50g celery, finely diced
75g tomato purée
A pinch of ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground cloves
300ml water
To garnish (optional)
20g flat-leaf parsley, deep-fried
To prepare the filling, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over a high heat. Add the beef and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes to brown lightly. Add the remaining ingredients one at a time. Once the water is added, reduce the heat to low and cook until the liquid has reduced almost totally. Tip into a bowl, cover and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas 7. Halve 3 aubergines lengthways, then cut a 5mm criss-cross pattern in the flesh. Brush the scored flesh with 50ml olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap each aubergine half in foil and bake for 25–30 minutes. Unwrap and, when cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh with a spoon, leaving a 3mm thick layer next to the skin. Set the aubergine shells aside.
Roughly chop the scooped-out flesh and put into a large bowl. Mix in 20ml olive oil, then check the seasoning. Cover and set aside.
Heat a ridged griddle pan. Cut the fourth aubergine lengthways into 6 slices. Oil generously, salt lightly and griddle for 30 seconds, then give them a quarter-turn and cook for another 30 seconds. Turn carefully and repeat on the other side. Set aside on a plate.
Heat 75ml olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the potatoes with the garlic, thyme and bay leaf and cook until lightly golden and tender. Season, drain and set aside in a bowl.
Reheat the béchamel in a pan over a low heat to a simmer, then remove from the heat, add the nutmeg and whisk in the egg yolk. Mix in two-thirds of the grated cheese.
Put the reserved aubergine shells in an oiled roasting tin and divide the potato slices between them. Add a layer of chopped aubergine, a slice of griddled aubergine and finally the meat filling, piling it up generously. Spoon on the sauce to coat generously and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20–25 minutes until bubbling and golden on top. Serve garnished with deep-fried parsley, if you like.