Mmmmm... Moussaka

Last week we made a clean-eating eggplant recipe and had eggplant left over, which I've been debating how to use all week.

There are only two recipes with eggplant that I've ever enjoyed. The clean eating recipe we ate last week was a carry-over from our detox - it's best described as a roasted hash of cauliflower, eggplant and chickpeas with a tangy yogurt sauce.

The other, is the most superb dish from one of our favorite restaurants, Asheville's Curate, a family-owned Spanish tapas hots pot featuring a James Beard award nominated chef. It's thinly sliced, lightly breaded and fried slices of eggplant with rosemary and drizzled with local honey. The flavors are superb - every time I eat it, I'm actually at a loss for words. The complexity of the dish - from the flavors to the textures - are phenomenal. If you're ever in Asheville, stop there for that dish alone (all the other dishes are great, too, but the eggplant is out-of-this-world).

But other than these two dishes, I'm indifferent to eggplant. It has all the flavor and awkward texture of a styrofoam cup and just feels so worthless. Despite being a negative-calorie food, that burns more calories to eat than it contains, I struggled to find tasty recipes to use. But, no more!

By an act of serendipity or pinterest-happenstance, I decided to try a recipe my cousin pinned for the Greek classic, moussaka. Moussaka is a Mediterranean-flavored, rich version of shepherd's pie. You layer lightly fried (or grilled or roasted) eggplant slices with a meat sauce, Parmesan cheese and bechamel (French classic: mastered!).

It is so flavorful with soft gooey layers. The eggplant softens greatly, and can be cut with a fork and is the perfect vessel for the spice-filled sauces. The Italian spices brought in familiar flavors to the meat sauce, but they were enhanced with the surprising addition of cinnamon and nutmeg. Nutmeg is common in bechamel, but adding it to the meat sauce was a great addition, especially since we used chicken instead of traditional beef. I prefer ground chicken to turkey; it has a more "pure" flavor and absorbs anything you add to it. And despite using only half a pound of ground meat, this dish feels substantial and hearty. The eggplant actually takes on a meaty, steak-like quality.

And it makes quite a portion. We divided the recipe in half to make four servings, instead of eight; and let's be honest, their "eight servings" would take up two 9"x13" casseroles and would feed your octet to excess.

I will say that this dish does take some planning and good mise en place -we didn't read ahead as well as we should've and were scrambling a bit - but if you plan ahead and take your time, this would be the perfect meal for a big potluck, church fellowship or fancy dinner party.

Also, be sure to have some soft, warm bread on hand; this leaves a great sauce on the plate that's just begging to be sopped up by a breadstick!

Moussaka (4 servings)

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, sliced into 1/2" slices (we did discs, but you can do lengthwise slices; also you can leave the peel on or use a veggie peeler to remove it - we left it on)
2 T olive oil

Meat Sauce:
1 1/2 t butter
1/2 lb. ground meat (beef or chicken)
salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t dried Italian seasoning
1/2 c tomato sauce (we used leftover Hunt's garlic spaghetti sauce)
4 T red wine
1 egg, beaten

Bechamel:
1 c milk
4 T butter
3 T all-purpose flour

1/2 c and 2 T grated Parmesan cheese

Method

Preheat oven to 350.

Lay the eggplant slices on paper towels, sprinkle lightly with salt and set aside for 30 minutes to draw out moisture.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and add ground meat, salt/pepper, onions and garlic. After meat is browned, sprinkle in cinnamon, half of nutmeg and seasonings. Pour in the tomato sauce and wine and mix well. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. If all liquid evaporates, add more tomato sauce 2-3 T at a time. Cool and stir in beaten egg.

In a skillet over high heat, heat the olive oil a few teaspoons at a time. Quickly fry the eggplant until browned, set aside on paper towels to drain. You may need to add more oil, the eggplant is very absorbent. (Note: you could also roast or grill the eggplant instead of pan frying; you just want it to be more tender.) Set aside on paper towel to drain. Then layer 1/2 of slices in a greased 9"x13" casserole dish.

Layer all of the meat sauce over the eggplant layer. Sprinkle with 1/4 c of the Parmesan. Layer again with eggplant and 1/4 c of Parmesan.

To make the bechamel sauce, begin by scalding the milk. The easiest way to do so is to put your milk in a microwave safe bowl with a wooden chopstick or other microwave utensil. Microwave just until boiling (3-4 minutes). The utensil breaks the surface of the milk and keeps it from superheating which is very dangerous. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Lower heat and gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly until it thickens. It's thick enough when it coats the back of a spoon without dripping off. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the bechamel over the eggplant/Parmesan layer. Sprinkle with remaining nutmeg and Parmesan.

Bake for 1 hour.

Allow to sit for 10 minutes before slicing.