Moussaka

Cook Time 2 hours

Servings 6-8

Ingredients

3 x large eggplants, sliced lengthways
4 x potatoes, peeled & sliced ½ cm thick
4 x zucchini’s, sliced lengthways
200g Danish feta
500ml of each, vegetable& olive oil
1 cup plain flour
1tbspn ground nutmeg
Salt & pepper

Meat sauce
2 x 410g tin of crushed tomatoes
1 brown onion, finely diced
1kg beef mince, ground finely
4 cloves
3 bay leafs
1tbspn crushed garlic
1 cup red wine

Béchamel sauce
Salt & pepper
1L full cream milk
1 brown onion, peeled & cut in half
5 cloves
2 bay leaves
6 black pepper corns
300g butter
1 cup plain flour
1 cup myzithra cheese, grated or (pecorino cheese.)

Method

Slice the eggplants long ways and sprinkle each with salt and set aside for ½ hour to remove the bitterness.

Meanwhile fry the chopped onion & garlic in a little olive oil and add the mince, bay leaves & cloves. Cook until the mince has browned. Then add the red wine and reduce by half. Add tomatoes & cook for 35mins on a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

Take a large frying pan, heat olive and vegetable oil. Fry potatoes and cook for 3 to 4mins until golden brown. Remove and place on a tray with absorbent towel. Season with salt and pepper.

Next lightly flour the zucchini and fry for 2 to 3mins until golden brown. Place on a tray with absorbent towel.

Take eggplants and wash under cold water, to remove salt and pat dry with a towel. Lightly flour them and cook for 2 to 3mins each side or golden brown. Place on a tray with absorbent towel.

To construct the dish, take a baking dish and tear eggplants, placing them across the base of the dish. Next spoon some of the meat sauce over the eggplants and crumble some feta over sauce. Then place a layer of zucchini’s over the top and then repeat the same process with the sauce. Next place a layer of potatoes over the zucchini’s and repeat the sauce process.

Repeat the same layering process with remaining ingredients.

Once finished the layering process. Place baking dish into the fridge to set for min ½ hour.

Next step you need to make a béchamel. Pre heat oven to 180c.

Once you have made béchamel, remove moussaka from the fridge and pour béchamel over the top. Sprinkle nutmeg over the top and then place into oven and bake for 35mins or until top of moussaka is bubbling and golden.

Béchamel sauce
In a saucepan; place milk, onion, cloves, bay leaves and peppercorns and place on a low to medium heat, making sure milk slowly comes to the boil infusing the flavours.
In another saucepan take butter and melt over a low heat. Once melted, add flour and stir together with a wooden spoon continue to cook for 5 minutes stirring continuously to avoid browning.
Once milk has boiled, turn off heat and strain into another pan. When straining into pan, make sure to continually stir to eliminate all lumps. Stir until the sauce thickens approx 4 to 5minutes.
Stir cheese through