Mousaka

As printed in "What's Cooking with the Greeks II, Millennium Edition"

 

4 medium eggplants
Salt
4 Tablespoons butter
2 lbs ground beef
3 onions, chopped
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup parsley, chopped
½ cup red wine
Salt & Pepper
½ cup water
Dash of cinnamon

 

2 to 3 eggs, beaten
½ cup grated cheese
½ cup bread crumbs
6 Tablespoons butter
6 Tablespoons flour
3 cups hot milk
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Dash of nutmeg
4 egg yolks, slightly beaten
Cooking oil
Grated Cheese

 

Remove ½ inch wide strips of peel lengthwise from eggplants, leaving ½ inch peel between strips, cut into thick slices., sprinkle with salt and let stand between 2 heavy plates while browning meat and making sauce. In frying pan, melt 4 tablespoons butter an in it, sauté meat and onions until meat is browned. Add tomato paste, parsley, wine, salt, and pepper, and water. Simmer until liquid is absorbed. Cool. Stir in cinnamon, eggs, cheese, and half the bread crumbs.

Sauce: In saucepan, melt 6 tablespoons butter over low heat. Add flour and stir until well blended. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk. Return to heat and cook, stirring until sauce is thick and smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste, and the nutmeg. Combine egg yolks with a little of the hot sauce, then stir egg mixture into sauce and cook over very low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Brown eggplant slices on both sides in hot oil. Grease an oven-proof casserole and sprinkle bottom with remaining bread crumbs. Cover with layer of eggplant slices, then layer of meat, and continue until all eggplant and meat are used, finishing with a layer of eggplant. Cover with sauce; sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in 350o oven for 1 hour. Serve hot.

Yield 10 to 12 servings.