Description
- a little oil (for shaping)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 5 Tsakonian eggplants, cut lengthwise into strips about 1 cm thick
- sesame oil (for frying)
- flour (for dredging)
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 7–8 ripe tomatoes, grated
- salt, black pepper, 1 pinch sugar, 1 pinch cumin
Method
Combine the minced beef with the grated garlic, soaked bread, salt, pepper, cumin, eggs, and vinegar. Knead well, then cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Lightly knead again, oiling your hands as needed, and shape into thin soutzoukakia (slender oblong meat rolls).
Dredge in flour and fry over high heat until browned. Set aside.
Salt the eggplant slices, then fry until softened and golden.
Sauté the tomato paste in oil, add the grated tomatoes and the remaining seasonings, and simmer until the sauce thickens and most of the liquid evaporates. Spread the sauce in a baking pan.
Wrap each soutzoukaki in one eggplant slice and place the “hanoumakia” in tight rows over the sauce.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 20 minutes.
