Eggplant Rolls with Ground Meat

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 Carrot
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 450 ml beef broth
• 400 g diced tomatoes (canned)
• 2 Eggplants
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 50 g bacon (diced)
• 400 g ground lamb
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• Salt
• Pepper
• toothpicks

Instructions

1. 1.

   Peel and finely chop onion and garlic. Wash, trim and dice celery. Peel and dice carrot.

2. 2.

   Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Sauté vegetables over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and deglaze with a splash of broth. Let simmer slightly. Add remaining broth, tomatoes and let cook on low heat for 20 minutes.

3. 3.

   Meanwhile wash, trim eggplants and slice lengthwise into 1/2 cm thick rounds. Wash thyme, shake dry and pluck leaves.

4. 4.

   Brown bacon in a hot pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Stir in ground meat and cook until crumbly, about 5 minutes.

5. 5.

   Stir thyme with oregano, salt and pepper into the sauce. Add about one‑quarter of the tomato sauce to the meat, season and remove from heat.

6. 6.

   Heat remaining oil in a large pan. Fry eggplant slices one by one over medium heat for 1–2 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

7. 7.

   Top each slice with 1 tbsp ground‑meat filling, roll up, secure with toothpicks, place in a baking dish. Spread tomato sauce around the rolls and bake in preheated oven at 180 °C (fan 160 °C; gas: level 2–3) for about 25 minutes.