Moussaka

I've been a little slack of late so i've a bit of catching up to do.

Admittedly im not a huge fan of lamb but even i have to admit Moussaka is yummy. This quantity would feed a family of four and can also be portioned and frozen.

Moussaka

1 aubergine

1/2 courgette cubed

handful of button mushrooms cubed

1 onion diced

1 clove garlic smashed

1/4 mild chilli finely diced

500g minced lamb

1 tin chopped tomatoes

squirt of tomato paste

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of all spice

Handful of flat leaf parsley

White Sauce

25g butter

25g plain flour

600mls milk (or half and half cream for a richer sauce)

100g grated cheese, i use Gouda

Crack of black pepper

Grated parmesan

Firstly the bitter juices need to be taken out of the aubergine. Slice to aubergine into about 1 cm slices length ways. Lay onto some kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt, leave for 15 minutes, pat dry, turn over and repeat, leave for another 15 minutes.

Using a griddle pan (or frying pan) brush the slices of aubergine with some oil and cook gently on the pan, you don't want it to brown too much just to soften nicely 5-8 minutes on each size depending on the thickness.

Next in a frying pan on a gentle heat soften the onions, garlic, chilli, mushrooms and courgettes. When nicely softened add in the spices and allow to cook out for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pan and brown the mince. Add the onion mix back to the pan, mix together and pour in the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Next the white sauce, melt the butter gently in a saucepan once liquid add the flour in and cook out for a couple of minutes whisking with a small whisk all the time. Slowly and gradually add the milk making sure to whisk all the time to prevent lumps from forming. Simmer for approximately 3-5 minutes until nice a thick. Take off the heat and stir in the grated cheese and season with pepper.

So to assemble the Moussaka you need a casserole dish, sprinkle the chopped parsley into the lamb and spoon the lamb into your dish next layer with the cooked aubergine and finally smother with the white sauce. Grate with Parmesan and bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees celcius for 40 minutes until nicely golden and bubbling.