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1 large eggplant salt (as needed) 4 to 5 Tbsp. cooking oil Meat Filling: 1 Tbsp. butter 1 large onion, peeled and diced 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced 1 lb. lean ground beef 1/3 c. tomato sauce 1 tsp. sugar 1 Tbsp. wine vinegar 1 Tbsp. red wine 1 bay leaf, crumbled 1 Tbsp. chopped parsley 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 3/4 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper Béchamel Sauce: 1/4 c. butter 3 Tbsp. flour 1 c. milk 1 c. heavy cream 1 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. freshly ground white pepper dash of freshly grated nutmeg 2 eggs, well beaten grated Romano cheese Slice unpeeled eggplant into rounds, 1/4-inch thick. Salt each round slightly and stack in a colander to drain. Weigh the eggplant down by placing a soup plate on top and a large can in the well of the soup plate. Let stand 3 hours to extract liquid. Rinse in cold water and dry with paper towels. Heat oil in frying pan; brown eggplant slices on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Reserve. While eggplant is draining, prepare meat filling. In a large skillet, melt butter. Sauté onion and garlic until golden. Add meat and brown, breaking up meat with a fork; pour off excess fat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer over low heat until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and reserve. To make Béchamel Sauce, melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan; stir in flour. Add milk and cream, a little at a time, stirring constantly. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and smooth. Add sauce to eggs, beating well. Return mixture to saucepan. Cook, stirring, over low heat until mixture is very thick. Do not let boil. Remove from heat; let cool and reserve. Assemble Moussaka: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange half the eggplant over bottom of a 9 x 12-inch baking dish; spread meat filling evenly over top. Cover with remaining eggplant. Pour Béchamel Sauce evenly over top; sprinkle with grated Romano cheese. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden. Cool slightly before serving. Moussaka is better if allowed to sit overnight, cut into squares and reheat. Serves 8 to 12. This recipe is from an actual cookbook printed by Fundcraft Publishing! 1,000,000+ free recipes and free software at: Cookbooks.com! Accuracy is believed to be good, but is not guaranteed. This recipe posting is intended for personal use only. You can print a copy for yourself and/or your friends, but you cannot publish it or post it to any Internet or other public site without our permission. |