Moussaka

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Serves: 6

My childhood favourite food. This recipe is very similar to the way my dad makes it, with a few small alterations.

Ingredients

2 large aubergines
6 large potatoes
50g parmesan or pecorino cheese
1 tsp sweet paprika
olive oil (various amounts)
1 egg
2 large onions
500g minced lamb
250g mushrooms
1 large red bell pepper
2 courgettes
700ml tomato passata (or 2 cans crushed tomatoes)
12 fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
500ml milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp white flour
pinch of salt
½ sprig fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ tsp powdered nutmeg
1 tsp paprika

Directions

First, cut the aubergines into slices about a centimetre thick. Sprinkle salt liberally over each side of each slice, piling them all up unevenly (to allow moisture to drain easily) in a large bowl, or in a colander over the sink. Leave for about half an hour.
Peel and finely slice the onions and garlic.
Boil a large pot of salted water. Peel the potatoes and slice at a similar thickness to the aubergines. Parboil the potatoes for five minutes, until they’ve lost the slick feel of freshly cut raw potato, but they haven’t yet softened. Drain and set aside.
Fry the onions and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring.
Add the mince and cook until it’s lightly browned all over.
Chop the mushrooms, shred the basil leaves by hand, and add to the pot.
Scrape the blade of a serated knife down the length of the courgettes, distressing the skins but not removing the skin altogether. Then top and tail them and chop into small slices. Add them to the pot with the lamb and the other vegetables.
Remove the core of the red pepper, slice into thin strips and put them in too. Cook for another few minutes and then stir in the passata. Cover and allow to simmer on very low heat.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
To make the béchamel sauce, melt the butter in another pan, add the flour and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
Immediately begin adding the milk in small splashes, stirring continuously to avoid the sauce thickening. You want to end up with a reasonably thick but easily pourable béchamel sauce.
Remove the béchamel from the heat, sprinkle in the nutmeg, a pinch of salt, and the parsley, finely chopped. Stir through.
In a large roasting tin, place a single layer of the potatoes. Spoon over a thin layer of the meat sauce. Then a layer of the aubergines. Repeat until all potatoes, aubergines and the meat sauce is in the tin.
Grate the parmesan (or pecorino) over the mixture in the tin to form a thin layer. Then pour the béchamel sauce carefully across the top to cover. Sprinkle the paprika unevenly across the moussaka for a rustic effect.
Beat the egg and spread it over the surface (use a brush to get it as even as you can without disturbing the béchamel sauce).
Place into the oven and bake for about twenty minutes - or until the top is golden. Serve with steamed vegetables.