This easy eggplant with minced pork recipe, layered with tomatoes and cheddar cheese, is a delicious, healthy dinner that will satisfy any appetite. It’s perfect for a quick and easy weeknight dinner, and it comes loaded with flavours and textures that will delight your taste buds.
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Eggplant lovers can enjoy this dish, which can vary according to everyone’s tastes and ideas. As you probably know, I’m a big fan of eggplants, and this recipe is similar to the Mediterranean roasted eggplant recipe, only I’ve changed the ingredients a little.
This time, on top of the eggplant, I will put minced pork seasoned in my style, but you can replace it with beef or sausage. If here, I will prepare the eggplant with minced pork in layers in a sandwich style; in other recipes, such as the best eggplant casserole recipe, I placed the ingredients in a baking dish in layers, resulting in a delicious moussaka.
Ingredients
For four servings, I will use two large pieces of ripe eggplant, which I will slice lengthwise and serve two slices per person.
On top of the eggplant slices, I will put 500 g of minced pork, seasoned with a teaspoon of sea salt, one teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, a teaspoon and a half of onion powder and a teaspoon of vegetable mix for soups.
We still need two large, ripe tomatoes, which will be sliced, 120 g of cheddar cheese and a spoonful of dried oregano.
How to Make the Eggplant With Minced Pork Recipe?
Preparing the Ingredients
As I usually do when I cook, I start by preparing the ingredients so I will slice the eggplant. First, I will cut the ends with the tail and slice them lengthwise into thick slices of 1.5-2 cm (0.5-0.8 inches), resulting in four pieces from each eggplant.
In many recipes, I usually salt the eggplant slices and leave them aside to remove their bitter juice, but this time I leave them like that.
I also slice the tomatoes quite thinly, about half a centimetre thick (0.2 inches), but I definitely use ripe and aromatic tomatoes.
I gave the cheddar cheese on a large grater; instead, you can use any kind of ripened cheese, semi-hard or hard, but which melts quickly.
Put the minced pork in a bowl and season with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and onion powder. I also put dry vegetable mix because I like the taste it gives to the food.
Mix well by hand until all the ingredients are well incorporated, and you will get a homogeneous meat paste. For better results and a more flavorful taste, I recommend using meat with at least 20-30% fat.
All the ingredients are prepared, and we can assemble the eggplant with minced pork.
Layer the Dish
Grease a baking tray well with two spoons of sunflower oil, but it can be any vegetable or olive oil. Place the eggplant slices in the tray and pierce each piece several times with a fork. This will help the melted fat from the meat to penetrate better into the eggplant.
Season the eggplant slices with one teaspoon of sea salt.
Spread all the minced meat evenly over the eggplant slices, making them look like sandwiches.
Place the slices of tomatoes, two or three depending on their size, on top of the meat and sprinkle some dried oregano, the friend of tomatoes, which will give the dish a Mediterranean taste.
Roasting
Place the tray in the oven preheated to 180 C Fan (356 F) for twenty minutes, enough to cook the meat and eggplant. Only now, I will add grated cheddar cheese over the baked tomato slices, which will be like a crown over the appetizer.
Put the pan back in the oven, this time at 200 C (392 F), for five minutes, when the cheddar cheese will melt and turn golden.
And with that, I finished cooking! This was my eggplant with minced pork recipe, a perfect appetizer or light dinner, recommended with all my heart.
Serving
This eggplant with minced pork must be served hot, with fresh bread and possibly with a rocket salad or, if not, a delicious homemade coleslaw.
I personally included these eggplants with minced pork on the list of appetizers for romantic summer evenings, and on our blog, you can also try other tasty appetizer recipes such as:
- Vegan Guacamole
- Spinach and Feta Rolls
- Creamy Mozzarella Polenta
- Meatloaf Pate Recipe
- Zucchini Balls Recipe
- Stuffed Mushrooms With Cheese and Bacon
- Best Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Recipe
- Battered Fried Zucchini
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Eggplant With Minced Pork
Equipment
- 1 grater
- 1 Oven tray
Ingredients
- 2 pieces eggplants large size
- 500 g pork mince min 20-30 % fat
- 2 pieces tomatoes large, ripe
- 120 g cheddar cheese grated
- 2 tsp sea salt kosher
- 1 tsp ground pepper kosher
- 1+ ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried vegetable mix
- 1 tbsp oregano dried
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Cut the ends of the eggplants with the tail and slice them lengthwise into thick slices of 1.5-2 cm (0.5-0.8 inches). Slice the tomatoes quite thinly, about half a centimetre thick (0.2 inches). Grate the cheddar cheese on a large grater.
- Put the minced pork in a bowl and season with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, onion powder and dried vegetable mix.
- Mix well by hand until all the ingredients are well incorporated, and you will get a homogeneous meat paste.
- Grease a baking tray with sunflower oil, place the eggplant slices on the tray and pierce each piece several times with a fork. Season with sea salt.
- Spread all the seasoned minced meat evenly over the eggplant slices.
- Place the slices of tomatoes on the meat and sprinkle with dried oregano on top.
- Put the tray in the oven preheated to 180 C Fan (356 F) for twenty minutes.
- Add the grated cheddar cheese over the baked tomato slices.
- Put the pan back in the oven at 200 C (392 F) for five minutes, when the cheddar cheese will melt and turn golden.
- Serve hot, with fresh bread and possibly with a rocket or lettuce salad or, if not, a delicious coleslaw.