Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: Under 2 hours
Ingredients for 4 people
2 lbs (1 kg) aubergines (eggplant) or courgettes (zucchini) or a mixture of both (trimmed and sliced lengthways in thick slices).
2 large potatoes, peeled and slices from their wide side.
1/2 glass olive or sunflower oil.
2 medium onions sliced.
1 lb (500 g) minced beef, lamb or pork
2 large tomatoes, grated, or one 400g tin of tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1 stick cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 (125 ml) glass red wine
For the white sauce (bechamel)
4 tablespoons butter
4 heaped tablespoons flour
1 pinch of salt and pepper
2 eggs
3-cups (750 ml) of boiling milk
some cheese or halloumi for the top.
Method
Heat the oil. Fry the aubergine, courgette (zucchini) and potato slices in the oil, turning the slices so that they brown but don’t cook through. Leave them to drain on kitchen paper.
Then fry the onions in some oil till soft and then add the meat and stir to break it up.
Add the tomatoes, herbs, spices, seasoning and wine and continue to cook for about 25 minutes when the liquid should have been absorbed.
For the white sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan stir in the flour and then add warm milk gradually, whisking hard to remove any lumps. Add salt and pepper. When it starts to boil, take the saucepan away from the heat but continue stirring it for 1-2 minutes and then add the eggs, stirring so that the eggs mixed with the sauce.
To assemble the moussakas use 25cm X 25cm baking dish and line the base with slices of potatoes, courgettes (zucchini) and aubergines. Spread the minced meat in a layer and cover it with another line of potatoes, aubergines and courgettes (zucchini). Cover the top with the white sauce (Bechamel) and sprinkle some cheese on top.
Bake in a moderate oven for about 50 minute or till the top is a good crusty brown.
