Pougia Me Melitzanes Kai Arnaki - Greek Style Eggplant and Lamb Meat Pouches

A few days ago, we had a friend over for dinner. Pondering what to cook, I settled on a dish I had enjoyed in a restaurant several years ago and set out to recreate it. I 'm sure I did several things different to the original, but the result was probably just as good.

The main ingredients are eggplants, lamb meat, tomato sauce and cheese. Apart from the tomato sauce, which is made in a regular cooking pot, everything else is cooked in tin foil.

To avoid having the food stick to the tin foil, I wrapped it in parchment paper first, then wrapped the "packages" in tin foil.

To serve 6:

6 big eggplants, or one per person.

0.5-1 Kg tomatoes

1 large onion

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup white wine.

1 lamb leg, boned and diced

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp rosemary

1 tbsp honey

4 tbsp pomegranate sauce

1 tsp cinnamon

hot chilli sauce (optional)

salt, to taste

ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup olive oil

a few drops of liquid smoke (optional)

12 slices smoked cheese (or 2 slices per person)

500 gr feta cheese

Dice the onion. Slice two cloves of garlic. Dice the tomatoes.
In a large skillet heat 2 tbsp oil. Add the onions and let then cook until golden-brown.

Add the slices of garlic, let them cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then add the half cup of wine and reduce the temperature. Add salt, pepper and (optionally) 1/2 a tablespoon hot chilli sauce.

Cover and let boil for 30', stirring occasionally.

Open the pot and continue cooking the tomatoes until they turn into a thick paste. As they approach, you will need to stir often to avoid the sauce sticking on the pot and burning.

In a jar, mix 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tst oregano, 4 tbsp pomegranate sauce, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp rosemary, 1 tbsp honey, 1/2 tbsp hot chilli sauce (optional), salt and pepper. Close and shake the jar to mix the ingredients.

Put the diced pieces of lamb in a bowl, pour the mixture on top of them, turn the meat several times so it is covered all over with the mixture.

In a second bowl, large enough for the meat mixture, cover the bottom with two pieces of tin foil, leaving around 15 cm extra on each side. Cover the tin foil with a large piece of parchment paper. pour the meat mixture. Cover with the edges of the parchment paper, then close the tinfoil sides making a semi-airtight package.

Place the package in the oven and let it cook in high heat (around 200 degrees C / 400 degrees fahrenheit).

After around 2 hours, remove the package from the oven and open it carefully (take care not to be burned by the steam that may escape).

Wash well the eggplants, then with a sharp knife make a cut halfway into each one of them.

Cut the third garlic clove into slices.

Insert a few slices of garlic into the cuts of the eggplants and add a teaspoon of olive oil in each.

Wrap each eggplant in parchment paper (just enough to cover it), then in tin foil.

Place the wrapped eggplants in the oven, alongside the lamb meat mixture and let them cook.

When all other preparations are ready, it is time to "assemble" the pouches.

Remove the lamb mixture and the eggplants from the oven, open carefully all "packages". Make sure you are not in the way of the steam that may escape when you open them. Remove the tomato sauce from the heat.

Place each eggplant on a slightly larger piece of parchment paper and open it flat (they should be totally limp by now).

Spread the remaining ingredients on top of the eggplants, splitting each preparation among them. The order is not critical, but I usually place one slice of cheese on the eggplant, place some tomato sauce on top, then add crumbled pieces of feta cheese, add the pieces of lamb on top, add a few drops of liquid smoke and cover with a second slice of smoked cheese.

Wrap the eggplant pouches in the parchment paper, then wrap in tin foil. Close well and place the completed pouches back in the oven for 30-60 minutes. When they are ready (don't worry, they WILL be ready), place each pouch in a soup dish, open it and serve it as is (inside the tin foil and parchment paper wrap).

If you are into alcohol, serve with good wine - or perhaps with a glass of ouzo.

Enjoy!