Creamy Moussaka

Serves:

Ingredients

• half a teaspoon butter, for greasing
• 2 eggplants
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus another 1/3 cup for brushing
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 600g lamb mince
• 400g tin diced tomatoes
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• half a cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Sauce:

• 50 grams butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• half a cup parmesan, finely grated

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease an oven-proof baking dish with butter and set aside.

Slice eggplant lengthwise and spread the slices out on a flat surface covered with a few tea towels. Sprinkle each slice generously with salt and allow to rest like this for at least 20 minutes.

Bring a large saucepan to low-medium heat, and then add oil. Saute the garlic, and onion until translucent.

Turn the heat up to medium and add the meat, browning it all over.

Add tomatoes, stock, mint, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for ten minutes, then set aside.

Rinse eggplant slices and pat dry. Bring a large frying to medium heat. Brush a few slices generously with olive oil and add to the hot pan. Fry for approx. 3 minutes. Before turning the eggplant slice, brush the uncooked side of the slices while in the pan and then turn, allowing them to cook another few minutes until soft. Remove from the pan and stack on a plate.

Continue frying the eggplant slices in batches until all are cooked

Bring a medium saucepan to a medium heat, melt the butter. Add flour to the pan and mix with the butter thoroughly to make a paste. Slowly whisk milk in, adding salt and pepper to taste. Keep whisking until it begins to bubble and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir parmesan through and set aside.

Cover the bottom of baking dish with eggplant slices, half the creamy sauce, half the meat sauce and so on in layers until you finish with the creamy sauce.

Sprinkle mozzarella on top and bake for 30 minutes in the oven or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

Let rest for ten minutes, then serve with buttered bread.

Notes:

• You can definitely make this recipe with beef mince if you have trouble finding lamb mince – although this is one of the major differences between Lasagne and Moussaka.
• You can buy diced lamb meat and throw it into your food processor to make your own lamb mince.
• It has taken me most of my life to discover the charms of eggplant. This Moussaka recipe is one of the dishes that made me finally fall in love with eggplant!
• This is a very special looking dish – and wonderful in cool weather as it‰s really comforting.
• This recipe was created by Kristine Duran-Thiessen for Kidspot, New Zealands best recipe finder

Serving Suggestions

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