In honor of Easter, I wanted to make something lamb based but thought that a leg of lamb might be a bit too pricey/fancy. So after a quick search, I settled on making moussaka - a Greek dish comprised of lamb mince and aubergines. Having never made this before, I was a bit nervous but luckily the Guardian had taken all the hard work out for me. Their weekly food column, "How to Make the Perfect...", by Felicity Cloake takes a dish and examines the different recipe tips and tricks before giving their verdict on how to make the perfect version. Her recipe had a manageable number of ingredients and was fairly simple to prepare - which are of course my main criteria for a first attempt at a dish.
This version was surprisingly easy to make and had a great cinnamon flavor. The béchamel topping was equally easy and had the perfect amount of salt from the pecorino cheese. If you're looking for a dish that will be warming but still spring-like, this is a great option. Also, by baking the eggplant first, this negates the need to salt them and also keeps the oil level of the overall dish much lower than other versions.
Recipe via www.guardian.co.uk
Ingredients:
2-3 aubergines, sliced lengthwise
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp oregano
500g lamb mince
2 tbsp tomato puree, mixed with 150ml of water
150ml red wine
1 tbsp parsley
500ml milk
60g butter
60g flour
50g pecorino
1 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
Salt
Pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C / 355F.
Lay aubergine slices on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush both sides of each slice with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the slices are soft and browned lightly.
Meanwhile, saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add in the garlic, cinnamon and oregano. Saute for a minute before adding the lamb mince. Continue to saute until lamb has browned and then add the tomato puree mixture and the red wine. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
In a separate pan, heat the milk until just before boiling. In another pan, melt the butter and add in the flour to make a roux. Slowly whisk this into the milk to form the béchamel sauce. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Allow to cool slightly before adding the two eggs so they don't scramble.
To assemble the moussaka, start with a layer of a third of the aubergine and top with half of the lamb mixture. Continue with these layers, finishing with a final aubergine layer. Top with the béchamel sauce. Bake for 45 minutes until the top is nicely browned. Allow to sit for 30 minutes so that the layers solidify a bit before slicing. Enjoy!
 |
| Ingredients (ignore the chopped tomatoes) |
 |
| Aubergine ready for the oven |
 |
| Aubergine fresh from the oven |
 |
| Layer 1: Aubergine |
 |
| Layer 2: Meat sauce |
 |
| Layer 6: Béchamel |
 |
| Finished result! |
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 45 min
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
2-3 aubergines, sliced lengthwise
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp oregano
500g lamb mince
2 tbsp tomato puree, mixed with 150ml of water
150ml red wine
1 tbsp parsley
500ml milk
60g butter
60g flour
50g pecorino
1 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
Salt
Pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C / 355F.
Lay aubergine slices on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush both sides of each slice with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the slices are soft and browned lightly.
Meanwhile, saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add in the garlic, cinnamon and oregano. Saute for a minute before adding the lamb mince. Continue to saute until lamb has browned and then add the tomato puree mixture and the red wine. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
In a separate pan, heat the milk until just before boiling. In another pan, melt the butter and add in the flour to make a roux. Slowly whisk this into the milk to form the béchamel sauce. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Allow to cool slightly before adding the two eggs so they don't scramble.
To assemble the moussaka, start with a layer of a third of the aubergine and top with half of the lamb mixture. Continue with these layers, finishing with a final aubergine layer. Top with the béchamel sauce. Bake for 45 minutes until the top is nicely browned. Allow to sit for 30 minutes so that the layers solidify a bit before slicing. Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment