.................. Cooking with Barry & Meta: Moussaka: Eggplant Casserole

Today’s excess garden produce was turned into Moussaka — A Greek eggplant casserole that consists of layers of roasted eggplant, spiced meat sauce and creamy béchamel (white) sauce.

Moussaka: Eggplant Casserole 4 servings

1 medium to large eggplant, sliced lengthwise into ¼ inch-thick slices, end slices discarded

Salt

Olive oil

For the meat sauce:

1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1/2 pound ground beef, sausage or lamb

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon paprika

7 to 8 ounces diced tomatoes (canned)

1/4 cup red wine

1/4 cup hot beef broth

For the béchamel:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups milk,

1 large egg

Eggplant: Salt the eggplant. Spread the eggplant slices in one layer and sprinkle with salt. Let set for 30 minutes to "sweat out" its bitterness. Pat the eggplant slices dry, removing excess salt, brush with olive oil and add to a hot grill pan. Set a bacon press (or another pan) on top of the slices; grill a few minutes and then turn and grill until slices are softened and golden.
Meat Sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet. Cook the onions on medium heat until they turn slightly golden brown, stirring regularly (about 5 minutes). Add the ground meat; cook until fully browned, tossing regularly. Add the dried oregano, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and paprika. Stir to coat the meat with the spices. Add the wine and boil for 1 minute to reduce. Stir in the broth and canned tomatoes.. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bechamel: In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Cook until golden (if needed, added a little more olive oil). Gradually add the milk, whisking continuously. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of the hot bechamel mixture with the egg. Then return all to the pan and stir into the bechamel mixture. Continue to stir or whisk the mixture bringing to a gentle boil for just 2 more minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from the heat and allow to cool and thicken a little more.
Assemble the moussaka. When ready, lightly oil a 8x8-inch oven-safe baking dish. Layer half the eggplant slices on the bottom. Add the meat sauce and spread well. Add the remaining eggplant slices. Pour the bechamel on top and spread to cover all the eggplant, then sprinkle with the bread crumbs.
Bake the moussaka casserole on the center rack of the heated oven for 45 minutes. If you need to, transfer the baking pan to the top rack and broil briefly so that the top of the moussaka gains a nice golden brown color (watch carefully). Remove from the heat and let the casserole sit for 10 minutes before cutting through into squares to serve.

Make ahead tips: You can prepare and broil the eggplant and meat sauce a day or two in advance. The bechamel sauce can also be made a few days ahead (it can hold texture for about 1 week,). If you prepare the components of this eggplant casserole ahead of time, keep them each in the fridge in separate tightly-closed containers. If the bechamel thickens too much, reheat it gently over low heat, adding a little more milk and whisking to make sure the mixture is not lumpy.

Recipe without photos . . .