Moussaka
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 medium eggplants, about 3 pounds total
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, heated
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 6 medium firm-but-ripe tomatoes, juiced, seeded, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 pound ground lean lamb
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Yield: 6 servings. Heat broiler. Peel the eggplants and cut them into 1/3-inch thick lengthwise slices. Arrange slices in a single layer on baking sheets. Lightly brush with hot oil. Season with salt and pepper. Broil, about 6 inches from heat source, until browned, about 4 1/2 minutes. Turn slices. Brush with hot oil and season lightly. Broil until browned, about 3 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, for lamb mixture, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in 12-inch, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add garlic, onion, chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir well. Cook, uncovered, until mixture has cooked down and is thick, about 10 minutes. Turn up heat to evaporate any remaining liquid. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in 10-inch, non-stick skillet. When hot, add lamb, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, until cooked through and brown, about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid that may accumulate in pan. Add drained lamb to tomato mixture. Adjust seasoning. It should taste well-seasoned because eggplant is mild-tasting. To assemble, have ready a shallow, 8-cup capacity baking dish. Arrange eggplant slices in attractive, overlapping spokes, meeting at the center, extending beyond the edge of baking dish. Fill in any spaces with pieces of eggplant so that base is solid. Once moussaka is inverted, this will be the top surface. Add tomato-lamb mixture. Use rubber spatula to smooth out and gently compact. Fold any extending pieces of eggplant back onto meat mixture. Cover with foil. Can be made up to two days in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before baking. When ready to bake moussaka, put rack in center of oven; heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake, uncovered, until very hot and lightly browned, about 40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes on cooling rack. Drain off any acumulated juices. Place a heated serving platter over dish; gently invert and unmold moussaka. Use a serrated knife to cut moussaka into serving portions and a metal spatula to transfer them to dinner plate. Serve hot or warm.