OK here's another eastern Mediterranean favorite: Papoutsakia (Little Shoes in Greece), Imam Bayildi (the Imam Fainted in Turkey), Sheikh el Mehshi (in Lebanon) or just plain stuffed aubergine (eggplant). This is more of a Greek recipe because i've reduced the amount of olive oil and use feta cheese as a topping.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Preparation

Cut the aubergines in half, place on a baking dish and brush with olive oil and sprinkle a little salt. Cook for 200 minutes at 200°C or gas mark 6 for 15-20 minutes.

In the meantime make the sauce. Add a little olive oil to a saucepan and fry the mincemeat until brown. Remove and store in bowl. Add the rest of the olive oil and fry the onions until soft.

Add garlic and tomatoes and fry some more. Add the mincemeat, mixed spice sugar, pepper and some salt and stir.

Add pasata, mix well and simmer until needed.

When the aubergines are starting to brown on the cut side they can be removed and a hole scooped out from the top. The pulp that you scoop out can be mixed with the mincemeat sauce.

Fill the aubergines with the mincemeat sauce, sprinkle with feta cheese and lay a thin slice of tomato on the top. Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and place under the grill for a few minutes to

melt the cheese and brown the tomato slightly. Remove and serve with salad or rice and yoghurt.