Photo source: Jacob Bøtter on Flickr
If you've had enough spaghetti bolognese or lasagne, another great meal from the mince family is moussaka.
You may not have cooked with lamb mince before. It's really tasty and gives a really different sort of flavour compared to beef mince.
This takes a little while to put together but the results are well worth the effort.
For the base:
500g lamb mince
1 large eggplant, cut into 1cm thick slices
2 onions, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
2 tablespoon tomato puree or tomato sauce
75ml wine (red or white)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
For the saucy topping:
75g butter
75g plain flour
570ml milk
50g grated cheese
1 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
Place the sliced eggplant into a colander and sprinkle generously with salt. Cover with a plate and leave for 30 mins to remove some of the excess moisture.
Fry the onion and garlic in some olive oil for around 5 mins, then add the mince. Once browned, add the tomato puree or sauce, wine, cinnamon, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir well and simmer gently for around 20 mins.
Get back to your eggplant now. In a separate frying pan, heat some olive oil. Use kitchen paper to dry the eggplant slices and then fry each side until golden brown. Drain again on kitchen paper to remove some of the excess oil.
When this is done, place half of your eggplant on the bottom of a casserole dish. Add half of the meat mixture, then another layer of eggplant, then the rest of the meat.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Now make the topping for the moussaka. Melt the butter over medium heat, add the flour and stir until smooth. Add the milk gradually, stirring vigorously until you have a smooth white sauce. Stir in the cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Let the sauce cool down a bit, then whisk up the eggs and add to the sauce.
Pour the sauce over the eggplant and meat mixture and then bake uncovered for 45-50 mins or until the top is golden brown and fluffy. Delicious served with a crisp Greek salad.
