Pumpkin slices baked with minced meat and tomatoes

Do you like pumpkin? Excellent!! This recipe is for you)

Ingredients

• pumpkin (net weight) 500 g
• minced meat (pork + beef) 600 g
• onion 1 pc
• garlic 2 cloves
• large tomatoes (can be replaced with a can of tomatoes in their own juice 800 g) 4 pcs
• chicken broth (can be replaced with vegetable broth or water) 100-200 ml
• vegetable oil 4 tablespoons
• cheese (like Russian) 100 g
• sugar to taste
• butter 30-40 g
• salt
• freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Cut the prepared pumpkin (washed, peeled from seeds and peels) into thin slices (about 5-7 mm thick).
2. Place the pumpkin slices in a large bowl, season with salt, pepper and stir.
3. Place the pumpkin slices in a baking dish.
4. Prepare tomato sauce.
5. Wash the tomatoes and cut into cubes.
6. Pour a little vegetable oil into the pan, put the tomatoes, lightly salt and pepper.
7. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally (until excess moisture evaporates and the sauce begins to thicken).
8. Add sugar to the sauce to taste, mix salt and remove from heat.
9. Peel the onion and chop finely.
10. Peel the garlic and chop finely.
11. Heat some vegetable oil in a clean frying pan, put onion, add a little salt and pepper and fry until soft.
12. At the end of frying, add half the garlic (1 clove), stir and remove from heat.
13. Transfer the onion to a bowl, making sure that as much oil as possible remains in the pan.
14. Heat the pan in which the onions were fried with a little oil, put the minced meat and fry until the moisture completely evaporates.
15. During frying, the minced meat must be constantly kneaded with a fork and mixed (it is better to fry the minced meat in small batches).
16. Salt the fried minced meat, to taste, pepper, add a piece of butter and mix.
17. Add the onion, the remaining chopped garlic (1 clove), tomato sauce to the minced meat, mix everything well.
18. Pour in broth or water (until desired thickness) and mix again.
19. Taste the resulting meat sauce with tomatoes, and if necessary, add a little salt, pepper or sugar.
20. Place the meat sauce on the pumpkin slices and smooth over the surface.
21. Bake for 45 minutes at 180 ° C.
22. Sprinkle grated cheese 5 minutes before cooking.