Mousaka

I wanted to start this blog with my favourite food of all time. Spanokopita. Filo pastry brushed with olive oil and thinly layered with a spinach, feta, dill and egg filling. I could happily eat this dish morning, noon and night. The enjoyment I have had in the making and eating of this dish (from the age of about 8 or 9) marked my first sense of pride in my Greek heritage and my first feeling of passion and pleasure for cooking and combining ingredients. The recipe I have always followed (I know of the existence of no better one) was borrowed from my Yia Yia (grandmother).

As fate would have it I received a text from a very good friend of mine a couple of nights ago expressing a craving for Greek food. However as I had lots of aubergines in the house because they were cheap in St. Albans vegetable market, I decided that it was mousaka time. It is the Greek national dish and my sister’s favourite, it’s a pity she is the other side of the country at university in Exeter. When done properly (I have leant to my cost never to order it anywhere where the chef isn’t up to it), mousaka is rich and tasty: baked slices of aubergine, underneath lamb/beef mince cooked in tomato, oregano and cinnamon with a topping of creamy béchamel sauce and Parmesan. The dish is complemented by green salad and the sharpness of some feta cheese.

The recipe I use has been adapted from Little Greek Cookbook by Rena Salaman.

Ingredients

1kg aubergines

1 large onion

500g beef/lamb mince

400g tomatoes

ground cinnamon

dried oregano

Béchamel sauce

75g butter

75g plain flour

600ml warm milk

1 egg yolk

Topping

50g Parmesan cheese (or cheddar/any other cheese really)

Cut the aubergine in 1/2cm slices, brush with olive oil and put in hot oven until thoroughly cooked.

Chop and fry onions in olive oil until transparent. Add meat and fry until starting to brown. Add remaining ingredients, season and simmer for 30 minutes or until quite dry.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in pan and add flour gradually until well incorporated. Remove from eat and add milk while stirring. Return to heat, add salt and keep stirring until thickened, about 10 minutes. Take from heat and add egg yolk, stirring continuously.

Grease a medium-sized tin and layer with aubergine slices. Spread the meat over evenly and cover with béchamel. Grate and sprinkle cheese on top. Cook in 180C oven for about 50 minutes until crisp and golden. Let in rest for 10 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.

The contents of my fridge dictated that I use red Leicester cheese in place of Parmesan and so the topping had an attractive orangey hue. Although the recipe says cook for 50 minutes, I would recommend leaving it in the oven for longer if possible, this would make it crispier and more solid. Many Greek dishes are intended to sit in a warm oven all day: dropped off at the local bakery in the morning and collected in the evening ready to eat.