Shelly's Recipe

MOUSSAKA

Category: Casseroles - Beef

Meat Sauce:
1 to 1 1/2 lb ground beef or lamb
1 small can tomato paste
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup red wine or water
Salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/8 tsp thyme and cinnamon
oil
1 egg

Cream Sauce:
1/2 gallon milk
1/2 cup flour and butter
salt & pepper to taste
3 eggs, beaten
Vegetables:
1 medium eggplant, sliced
2 medium zucchini, sliced
3 large potatoes, sliced
Lots of vegetable oil

Combine
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Meat Sauce: Saute chopped onion and ground beef in a little oil until browned. Add tomato paste, water and/or wine, and parsley. Add seasonings. Add 1 beaten egg to meat mixture when luke warm. If your sauce is watery and you are in a hurry, add 1/2 to 1 cup fine bread crumbs to absorb liquid. Let it stand a few minutes to allow crumbs to become saturated.

Cream Sauce: Melt butter in large saucepan. Add flour and make a paste mixture. Add a little milk at a time, whisking until all milk is used. Stir until thick and smooth. Allow to cool. Add beaten eggs. Add seasonings.

Vegetables: Slice potatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Keep in water until ready to use. Slice eggplant and zucchini into vertical slices about 1/2 inch thick. Bake slices in oil in pan with sides. Bake at 400. Turn once so that both sides are browned. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Assembly: Spray 13x9 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cover bottom of pan with a thin layer of cream sauce. Add one layer of potatoes. Add layer of eggplant. Sprinkle 1/2 the bread crumb mixture on the eggplant. Add some cream sauce on top. Add half the meat sauce in next layer and cover with cream sauce. Add layer of zucchini and sprinkle remaining bread crumb mixture on the eggplant.

Top with remaining meat sauce. Pour remaining cream sauce over the entire casserole. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden brown and a knife inserted into the cream mixture comes out clean. It will look like and feel like custard. Let it rest out of the oven at least 10 minutes before serving.

May be made a day ahead, refrigerated, brought to room temperature next day and heated. Sometimes this is better as the flavors mingle overnight. Serve by cutting into squares or rectangles as in lasagna. Serve with salad and crusty bread. Casserole can be frozen successfully for a couple of months. For vegetarian moussaka, the meat sauce may be omitted.