This Moussaka will remind you just how much you enjoyed Greek food when you last visited the most beautiful islands in the world.....
Serves 8 nostalgic guests.
6 average sized aubergine
Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Slice the aubergine into 1cm thick slices.
Grease a baking sheet and pack the aubergine slices on it in a single layer. Drizzle with oil.
Bake for 10 minutes, flip the slices over and continue baking for another 10 minutes, until soft and golden.
Remove from the oven and put aside.
For the meat sauce:
62ml vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
30ml tomato puree
750g lamb mince or a mixture of lamb and beef mince
250ml red wine
1 tin chopped tomatoes
5ml sugar
a pinch of cinnamon
Add the vegetable oil to a saucepan and place it on medium heat.
Add the chopped onion and cook until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic, tomato puree, mince and red wine and stir everything together.\
Finally add the tinned tomato, sugar and cinnamon.
Season the mixture with salt and pepper and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
You are looking for a sauce consistency where most of the liquid has evaporated without leaving the sauce dry.
Turn off the heat and put the meat sauce to the side.
For the Béchamel sauce:
120g butter, cubed
120g flour
900ml milk
2 egg yolks
a pinch of nutmeg
100g Kefalotyri or Parmesan cheese, grated
Place a saucepan onto medium heat and add the butter to it.
Once the butter has melted, add the flour. Stir the butter and flour around for about 2 - 3 minutes to cook out the floury taste.
Add the milk and whisk vigorously to get rid of lumps.
Gently stir the béchamel until it has thickened and remove the saucepan from the heat.
Allow the mixture to cool slightly before adding the egg yolks, nutmeg and cheese. Whisk the mixture well.
Season the béchamel with salt and pepper and put to the side.
Assembling the moussaka:
Grease an ovenproof dish of about 20cm X 30cm.
Start off by packing half the aubergine slices onto the bottom of the dish. Spread the slices to make an even a layer as possible.
Spoon all of the meat sauce onto this first layer and then end off with a layer of the last half of the aubergine.
Now pour the seasoned béchamel sauce over the meat and aubergine layers.
Bake the moussaka in the preheated oven for 50 minutes.
Serve warm with a crisp Greek salad and a glass of white wine.
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