Baked Eggplant with Ground Meat and Cheese

Rinse eggplant and cut lengthwise into approximately 0.5 cm (approximately 1/4 inch) slices. Let soak about 20 minutes in salted water, then drain and pat dry. Heat 3-4 tablespoons olive oil in a large non-stick pan. Cook eggplant slices in batches over high heat until lightly browned. Add more oil if necessary. Drain on paper towels.

Peel and dice onions. Blanch tomatoes briefly in boiling water. Remove skins, core and cut into cubes. In a pan, sauté onions in 3 tablespoons oil until translucent. Stir in ground meat, break up with a spoon and fry over high heat until the liquid has evaporated. Add tomatoes, white wine, salt, sugar, cinnamon and pepper. Cook, covered, over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Rinse parsley, shake dry and finely chop leaves. Stir parsley, sunflower seeds and dried oregano into ground meat mixture. Simmer 5 minutes more. Let cool.

Preheat oven to 180°C (approximately 350°F). Mix about 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs and half the Gruyere cheese into the meat. Heat butter in a saucepan, stir in flour and sauté. Gradually stir in milk and simmer 5 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Let cool slightly. Whisk 2 eggs, along with remaining Gruyere, into the sauce. Grease a baking dish with butter and sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs. Mix 1 beaten egg into the meat mixture. Lay half of the eggplant slices in the dish and spoon the meat mixture over. Top with remaining eggplant. Pour in the sauce. Crumble feta cheese and sprinkle over the top. Bake in the oven about 1 hour.

For the tomato salad: Rinse, core and chop tomatoes.