Greek Moussaka

Last weekend my husband and I attended the Greek Festival in Concord, CA and had a chance to eat some great food provided by the church group that put on the event. The food was expensive, but really worth it. So of course I had to come home and check out the recipes I found on line.


I'm a fan of eggplant. Several years back my Ratatouille Ala Garlic, was a finalist at the Gilroy Garlic Festival cooking contest. The first recipe I tried from the Greek Festival was the Moussaka. I'd never tried it before, but from all I read Moussaka is basically a lot like the ratatouille. Any vegetable can be added. The one at the Greek festival used eggplant and potato, so I stuck with those, although the idea of zucchini sounded good as well.

I choose to use lamb in this recipe because this is a Greek meal and the Greeks seem to like their lamb. Even so my son wasn't so fond of the lamb because it has a stronger flavor, so for those who don't like lamb, ground beef can be used. As a matter of fact the one we tasted at the Greek festival was made with ground beef.

Keep in mind that this dish is very similar to lasagna. It is made with layers. So if you are changing the vegetables, just make a couple of different kinds to make enough layers. And like lasagna it takes a good while to prepare.

Ingredients:
2 large eggplants, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1/2   cup salt
1 cup olive oil
3 large baking potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter
1 medium onion,  chopped
1 pound ground lamb or ground beef
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2  teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
1/2 cup Merlot red wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes
2 1/2 cups milk
3 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions: 
Preparing eggplant for cooking:
Once eggplant is peeled and slices put in a large bowl filled with water and salt. Let soak for 20 minutes. According to www.FineCooking.com "Globe eggplant works deliciously in just about any eggplant dish, provided you salt it first. Salting, also known as purging, accomplishes two goals: it pulls out juices that carry bitter flavors, and it collapses the air pockets in the eggplant's sponge-like flesh, thus preventing it from absorbing too much oil and getting greasy."

Preparing potatoes:
While the eggplant is soaking, heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a large skillet and add the potato slices cooking until golden on both sides. After cooking place on a paper towels to drain excess grease. Keep this up until all potatoes are cooked. Set the potatoes aside.

Back to eggplant:
Place 1 cup of the flour in a bowl and coat each slice of eggplant in the flour. Place one layer of eggplant in skillet with 1/4 cup flour. Cook until golden on each side. Place cooked eggplant on a paper towel to drain grease. Continue until all eggplant is completed. You may need to clean out the greasey skillet at least once before eggplant slices are completely cooked. Also you may need to add more oil during cooking.

Preparing meat layer:
Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet, add the onions and cook until clear. Add the ground meat and spices cooking until completely browned. Add  wine and cook until evaporated. Stir tomato paste into meat and then add tomatoes. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Set side.

Preparing cheese sauce:
In a medium saucepan melt 3 tablespoons of butter and, when hot, whisk in 3 tablespoons of flour and cook 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk, stirring until smooth and thick. Whisk in the eggs yolk. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese and set aside.

Preparing layers:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish.

Place the sliced potatoes in the bottom of the dish in an even layers until all potatoes are in the pan.

Add half of the eggplant slices.

Add the meat sauce.

Spoon an even layer of the cheese sauce evenly over the meat then sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the cheese.

Top with the remaining eggplant slices.

Spread the rest cheese sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on the top and heated throughout, 40 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.