Moussaka...or "The Full Extent of My Greek Recipes"

So, I love Moussaka.  I have always kind of thought of it (apologies to my Greek friends) as Greek lasagna.  I don't have a good palate for cooking Greek food, but I adore eating it.

This version of Moussaka is inspired by Masterchef.  George's momma came on and made her version of the dish, and it looked scrumptious.  I've altered her recipe with some of my touches, and think this is a pretty good version of the classic.

All that said...making this seemed to use up every dish and pan in my kitchen.  Be prepared.  Also, it took longer than I thought it would...but it was worth the effort.

Moussaka:

Ingredients

3 eggplants, sliced 5mm thick
4 tablespoons salt

drizzle of  olive oil
300g lamb mince
200g pork mince
200g beef mince
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried cinnamon
400g can of crushed tomatoes
700ml bottle of tomato passata

Olive oil & Canaola oil, for frying
3 large potatoes, sliced 5mm thick

Bechamel

100g butter
100g plain flour
600ml full cream milk, warmed
125g keflagraviera cheese, grated
1 egg yolk

Method

Lay eggplant over a shallow tray or dish and sprinkle liberally with salt. Cover with muslin or paper towels and set aside for 30 minutes.

Heat drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan or saucepan.  Add onion and saute briefly.  Add the lamb, pork and veal mince and cook until browned and the meat breaks up. 

Add crushed tomatoes, tomato passata, tomato paste and water.  Add garlic, italian seasoning and cinnamon and then bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for ½ hour. Season with salt to taste.

While the tomato sauce is bubbling away, pour a mixture of olive oil and canola oil (to your tastes - but word of advice, don't use extra virgin olive oil) into a frying pan approximately 1cm deep and place over a high heat.  Shallow fry potatoes for 3-4 minutes on each side or until tender. Drain on paper towel.

Pat dry the eggplant and wipe off the salt.  Pan fry the eggplant on each side (in the same oil as the potatoes) until golden yet still firm. Drain on paper towel.  If you don't want to cook the eggplant in oil, it tastes lovely grilled and works just as well.

For the béchamel, melt butter in a heavy based saucepan. Add the flour and stir over a low heat for 2 minutes. Slowly add warm milk, stirring continuously until thick. Mix in keflagraviera cheese and an egg yolk, and then season to taste with salt.  The cheese is already kind of salty, so go easy.

Preheat oven to 180C.

To assemble, oil the casserole dish and layer as follows:  Meat sauce, potato, sauce, potato, sauce, eggplant, sauce, potato, eggplant and remaining sauce. Cover with béchamel.

Bake for 45 minutes until browned and béchamel has set.

Enjoy!