Moussaka

[canuck]

Just had this for two days straight, where's the drool icon?

This is for four people, smallish casserole dish

* 2 eggplants, local work as well
* sea salt

Slice eggplant into 1cm strips and salt them, seal up in a baggie (or rather sandwich bag, for KK) refrigerate about 30 mins.

Take out and rinse and squeeze out all water, pat dry and fry slices in a HOT pan with a touch of hot oil til they brown and slightly singed

Put aside on paper towel to absorb excess moisture, then

* olive oil
* 1 onion diced
* 2 cloves of garlic, minced
* 1 bay leaf
* seasonings to taste. I like oregano, parsley, basil, a touch of cinnamon, a couple small hot chillies, dill, cloves, pepper, salt
( a good cheat is italian or greek seasoning (dried)
* 200 grams of minced lamb and 150 grams of minced pork
* 1 tin stewed tomatoes
* 1 tin tomato puree
* 3 tablespoons of tomato paste

Fry onion garlic, throw in mince cook til lightly browned, throw in seasonings and tomato and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Put a layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of your pan, add eggplant layer then meat sauce, alternate with sauce and eggplant.
If you like you can add a layer of potatoes (parboiled) on top.

Make a * béchamel sauce with cheese
4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
2 cups hot whole milk
salt
pepper
grated nutmeg

In a saucepan, melt the butter on low heat. As soon as it melts, add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until there are no lumps, and increase the heat to medium-low. Add the milk slowly, stirring constantly with a whisk, and continue stirring until the sauce begins to thicken - creamy without being too thick. add salt and pepper, and nutmeg to taste

Finally throw in some grated cheddar (1/2 cup), mix until it melts,
Cover moussaka with bechemel and bake in over for 25 mins at 180celcius

[Burbage]

Might try that.

[Lili Von Shtupp]

so...hungry...want...moussaka...

I will totally try this! Thanks so much!

[Queenie]

Just had this for two days straight, where's the drool icon?

Did you make two batches or was it leftovers from the night before?

Edit: typo

[canuck]

left overs, which was a hard thing to do (not snarf the whole thing in one go that is)

[BFG]

If you use Gruyere instead of cheddar, you get really rich sauce. Incredibly bad for you, I am sure, but who gives a toss? Not me...