Stuffed eggplants with mince on wood fired oven

Make an incision lengthwise in each aubergine, as shown in the video above, and remove the flesh carefully so they won’t end up too thin. Save the flesh and dice it for the filling. Dice the onions and chop the garlic cloves. Chop parsley’s leaves. Place a frying pan on the stove and add half of the olive oil.

Firstly, sweat the onions. Then add the garlic and the diced flesh of the aubergines. Stir well until they release their moisture and wilt. At this point, add the mince and mix well to combine all ingredients. Let it simmer and add the tomatoes, while there is still some liquid left inside the pan. Grate the tomatoes before adding them and discard their skin. Stir and add all the spices with the salt and the olive oil. Save 50 ml of olive oil for the final step. Lastly, stir in the chopped parsley. Cook for a few minutes. Though, keep in mind that the filling has to be juicy.

Remove from the stove and let it cool down. Instead of frying the aubergines, grill them until tender. Preheat the indirect woodfired oven before starting filling them.

Refer to the video above for a step-by-step guide to preheat your indirect wood-fired oven. Use dry hardwoods with 5-6cm in diameter. Firstly, place thinner pieces of wood underneath, for kindling, so that it will be easier to light the thicker pieces.

While preheating the oven, you can fill the aubergines. Fill each aubergine with the mince mixture and arrange them inside a clay baking tray. Let me mention here that the use of a clay baking tray is an important part of the slow-cooking method and gives us an excellent, flavorful result.

Place the aubergines with the opening on their side, so that one’s opening and filling face the other’s backside. Avoid placing them with the opening on top, because the mince will dry out. When you have finished filling all the aubergines, use the remaining filling (usually there’s always some left) to cover the space between the stuffed aubergines inside the tray. This will add extra flavor. Pour in 50 ml olive oil and some water if necessary. Liquids inside the tray should be lower than the middle level. Be careful when adding liquids since the aubergines will release their moisture eventually as well. In the end, there should only be the olive oil left in the tray.

When the wood turns into embers and the temperature is around 200⁰C (392⁰F), it’s time to put the tray inside the oven’s cooking chamber. The fire-plates and the firesand underneath will provide heat steadily. The temperature, which should drop slowly and steadily, is the second factor that guarantees a well-cooked food.

Cook for 2 hours, though you may have to wait a little longer. Cooking time is never fixed when using an indirect wood-fired oven. In any case, it’s best to cook it slowly. Don’t add any extra pieces of wood in the oven and make the fire stronger. This won’t give the tasty result we want.

Remove from the oven. Let it cool down before serving. Every element of this recipe has its purpose; the ingredients, the preparation, the cooking vessel and, of course, a well-constructed indirect wood-fired oven.

It’s best to share this dish with your friends. That’s what adds this something extra to every recipe.

Happy cooking everyone!