Rebecca Nielsen's Recipe

Easy Moussaka

Category: Lamb

Serves/Makes: 4
Difficulty: 2
Prep/Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

3 baby eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices (should be 10 slices)
1/4 cup basil olive oil (available in specialty stores and on-line)
1 pound ground lamb
1 medium onion, medium chop
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried thyme
2 t greek seasoning (recommend La Spiceria on-line)
1/8 t ground allspice
1/8 t ground cloves
3 cups homemade marinara sauce (recommend my 4 Herb Marinara Sauce)
2 cups milk
3 T butter
3 T flour
3/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1/4 t grated nutmeg
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
Fresh oregano sprig for garnish

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place eggplant on a sheet tray and brush both sides with basil olive oil. Salt and pepper each side as well. Bake until lightly browned and softened, but not mushy. About 12 minutes. Set aside when done.

While eggplant is baking, add 2 T of the basil oil to a large skillet and add onions. Saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add lamb, garlic, oregano, thyme and greek seasoning. Cook an additional 4 minutes. Stir in allspice and cloves. Add 1 t kosher salt and 1/2 t ground black pepper. Stir in marinara sauce, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Set aside.

In a small sauce pan over medium heat melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly. While whisking, slowly add milk and bring to just before a boil. Reduce heat to med-low and cook until thick. Remove from heat and add cheese, stirring until melted and add nutmeg.

Spray a 9 x 9 baking dish with vegetable spray. Place half of the eggplant on bottom of dish. Spoon half of the meat/sauce mixture over and top that with half of the cheese sauce. Repeat, ending with the cheese sauce. Bake for 25-30 minutes until browned and bubbly. Let rest for 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh oregano before serving.

Cooks Notes: I wish I would have known that I loved eggplant as a kid. I love the way it can take the place of pasta in dishes like this. Even though the ingredient list doesn't seem to say easy, by keeping a supply of homemade marinara sauce around, this really comes together quickly. I even put it together before work and bake it off at night. If you do, remember that it has been in the fridge all day and you would want to bring to room temperature (about 20 minutes) before baking.