Lamb and eggplant charlotte

 Recipe from our Chef Patrick Asfaux

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Ingredients :
Lamb charlotte (6 servings) :
3 'reasonably potbellied' eggplants
2 big onions, thinly sliced
1 pinch of thyme flower
5 degermed crushed and chopped garlic cloves
1 pound of fat trimmed off and minced meat of lamb
1/10 pound of tomatoe purée
1 can (1 pound) of peeled tomatoes or the equivalent of fresh de-seeded tomatoes
4 eggs
1 small cup of liquid cream
oil (for frying)
table salt, freshly ground black pepper
3 grams of red pepper
half a liter (an eighth of a gallon) of ready-made tomatoe sauce

Direction :
1. Cut the eggplants in their length and make grids in the pulp with a sharp knife and fry them on the pulp side in oil during 7 minutes
2. Put them on an absorbent paper and carefully (do not spoil the peel)remove the pulp with a spoon. Keep the peels and the pulp separately
3. In a casserole dish, heat the olive oil, add the onions, thyme and garlic and sweat them during 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes, tomatoe purée and the pulp of the eggplants, salt and black pepper.
4. Let it gently stew with a lid during 30 minutes then, pour it on a board and let it cool down.
5. When cold, transfer it into a large bowl, add the meat, the eggs, the cream and season with salt and red pepper.
Stir well with a spatula so that the whole is homogenous.
6. Heat the oven at 350 °F
7. Line the inside of individual moulds (5 inch tall and 2.5 each diameter)with the peels of the eggplants so that the deep purple glossy side will appear when you remove the charlottes from the moulds, then 3/4 fill the moulds with the meat and eggplant stuff.
8. Put the (covered) moulds on a baking tray half filled with hot water (to make a 'bain-marie')and cook them during 50 minutes.

Presentation :
Remove each charlotte from its mould on a nice dish and pour around it your hot tomatoe sauce.
The colour constrast (deep purple and red) is very pleasant.
This meal comes from a very old recipe called 'Moldavian style moussaka' firstly reconsidered by my father, Gabriel Asfaux, in our Parisian restaurant "A Sousceyrac" then updated by myself in 1985 where it was always successful. Just taste it...

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