This week was another of Roys 'use up the vegetable' challenges. We had four eggplants (aubergines) and they needed to be used before they went off. Question was, exactly what to cook which would use up four large eggplants! Then, inspiration hit. Roy loves lamb, and he loves cheese. If he could get lamb and cheese into our eggplant meal, he was going to. So, when I suggested making a moussaka he lept at the idea. Only one problem, we couldn't get lamb mince, but beef worked just fine. He also didn't much like the idea of making a bechamel sauce. After all, he wants kids to be able to cook his food with only a little help and while bechamel isn't difficult to make, it is probably a little beyond the kids. So, I suggested using a ricotta mix instead and he was set. So this week, Roy Creates Non-Traditional 'Moussaka'.
Notes:
- The amount you need will vary depending on the size of your dish. Roy had a very large dish
- Read through the whole recipe before making your moussaka, as it takes time and there are a couple of stages!
You Will Need:
- 3 or 4 eggplants
- 4 or 5 medium potatoes
- A goodly amount of grated parmesan or other cheese to cover
For the Meat:
- 1 kilogram of lamb mince or beef if you can't get lamb
- 1 large onion
- Olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed
- 1/2 a teaspoon of dried mint
- 1/2 a tespoon of dried parsley
- A tin of crushed tomatoes
- Salt and pepper
- A cup of chicken or vegetable stock (or wine)
For the topping
- 500 grams of ricotta
- 125 grams of fetta
- 1 large egg or 2 small ones
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Chop your onion. You want smallish pieces.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry off the onion until it is soft.
- Add the mince and fry until it has browned.
- Add the garlic, oregano, mint and parsley and continue frying.
- Add the tomatoes, stock, salt and pepper, turn the heat down and cook for 1 hour or until the sauce thickens.
Meanwhile, while the mince is cooking . . .
- Put your topping ingredients, minus the egg, into a food processor and process until smooth and combined. Add the egg and mix. If the mix is too thick, add a splash of milk. If you want, you can do this with a potato masher instead of a food processor, like Roy did, but the processor speeds things up. Put the topping mix into the fridge until you need it.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
- Cut your eggplants into thick slices and, if they are full of little brown seeds, sprinkle them with salt to draw out the bitterness. Leave them for 10 minutes then wash the salt off.
- Peel your potatoes, cut them into slices about 1 centimetre thick and put them in a layer on the bottom of your baking dish. Use the dish you plan to assemble the moussaka in.
- Put your eggplants onto a baking tray in a single layer. Bake your potatoes and eggplants for about 15 to 20 minutes. You don't want them completely cooked, you just want them to start to soften. Then, take them out of the oven.
- Cover the potatoes with the mince mix.
- Layer the eggplant on top of the mince.
- Cover with the ricotta mix and then sprinkle over the cheese.
- Bake the moussaka for about 50 minutes to an hour or until the top is browned and the potatoes are cooked. To check whether the potatoes are cooked push a skewer all the way through the moussaka and the potatoes should be soft and yielding.
- Serve hot with vegetables or salad.
