Ingredients:
- 3 dark purple eggplants/aubergines
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 300 g ground meat (beef)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 bunch (flat) parsley, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 6 thin slices of green bell pepper, for decorative topping
- 12 thin slices of tomato, for decorative topping
- 1 cup (or 240 ml) hot water
Directions:
1) Cut the eggplants in half lengthways leaving the stalk intact. In each half of eggplant, cut a deep split lengthways without cutting through to the skin on the opposite side
2) In a little of the olive oil, sauté the onions and green bell peppers until soft. Add the ground meat and cook until all the moisture is absorbed. Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and salt and pepper
3) Continue cooking for a further couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in most of the chopped parsley
4) Fry the eggplants lightly brown them evenly on both sides in vegetable oil. With the split sides facing up, place them into an ovenproof dish or a baking tray
5) Spoon the filling into the splits. On the top of each filled eggplant put two slices of tomato and a slice of green bell pepper
6) Preheat the oven to 180°C
7) Pour the hot water on the baking tray. Cover and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until they are tender and the eggplants are nicely browned on top
