When the Supper Club celebrated Greece, one of the readers requested the recipe for the moussaka. This is a little late, but I did get the recipe from Janis, and permission to post. For the whole Greek meal, you can check out the June post.

Moussaka

Ingredients:

4 large Eggplants, peeled and sliced
Kalamata Olive Oil – as needed – approximately 1 cup
2 large Yellow Onions chopped fine
1 pound of lean ground Lamb from Whole Foods
1 pound of lean ground Beef (90% or better)
4 cups of homemade Tomato Sauce (made with onion, garlic, basil and mint)
2 Tablespoons of Parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 cup of your favorite Old Vine Zinfandel wine
½ cup Sour Dough Breadcrumbs (toasted)
1 cup of Parmesan cheese
½ cup of Feta Cheese
2 Tablespoons of Allspice
3 Tablespoons of Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon of Nutmeg
1 Tablespoon Grey Sea Salt from Normandy
1 Tablespoon of a mixture of freshly ground Black, Red & Green Peppercorns

Béchamel Sauce:

12 Tablespoons of Butter
12 Tablespoons of Flour
1 large Shallot minced
1 Teaspoon of Nutmeg
Salt & Pepper to taste
3 cups of Whole Milk
3 cups of Light Cream
2 Eggs
2 cups of Parmesan Cheese
¾ cup of Feta Cheese
¾ cup of Gruyere Cheese

Directions:

1. Brush eggplants lightly with olive oil on both sides.
2. Place on cookie sheet and bake until tender – approximately 20 minutes turning once half way through cooking process.
3. Sauté chopped onions in small amount of olive oil till tender and just starting to brown. Season to taste with salt & pepper.
4. Add ground lamb and beef. Cook thoroughly.
5. Add tomato sauce, wine, 1/4 cup of the toasted breadcrumbs, parsley, and seasonings. Allow to simmer until liquid is reduced by half.
6. Taste and adjust seasonings to your taste.
7. While the meat mixture is reducing prepare the Béchamel Sauce.
8. Melt butter in large sauce pan.
9. Add shallots, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Cook until shallots are translucent.
10. Add floor and cook flour until thoroughly cooked. (It will be a light golden brown.)
11. Add milk and cream. (I preheat them in a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave to hasten the process.)
12. Mix the eggs and temper them with approximately half cup of sauce. Then add tempered eggs to sauce mixture.
13. When the sauce has cooked, thickened to the ribbon stage, add the cheese.
14. I added each cheese, one at a time. Stir constantly until all the cheese has melted.

To assemble dish:

1. Lightly oil a very large casserole dish.
2. Spread the remaining quarter cup of breadcrumbs along bottom of baking dish.
3. Place one layer of the eggplant, slightly overlapping to cover bottom of dish.
4. Layer half of the meat mixture.
5. Sprinkle the meat mixture with ½ cup of Parmesan & ¼ cup of Feta cheeses.
6. Place the remaining eggplant in a layer on top of the meat mixture.
7. Layer the remaining half of the meat mixture.
8. Sprinkle the meat mixture with remaining ½ cup of Parmesan & ¼ cup of Feta cheeses.
9. Cover the meat & cheese layer with the Béchamel sauce. The Béchamel layer will be approximately one inch thick.
10. Bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes until top is golden brown.
11. Allow to sit for approximately 5 minutes before serving.