Author Notes
This time of year is perfect for moussaka. Lamb is the Pascal season meat, eggplants are beautiful in the grocery stores (no local, of course, but still, very nice), and spinach, planted last fall, is starting to come up again and so may well be fresh and local if not this week, then perhaps next. Moussaka is a wonderful, rich, yet ultimately economical dish because it feeds a lot of people with a relatively small amount of meat. —fineartdaily
Ingredients
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1 pound
ground lamb
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1
onion, chopped
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1
clove garlic
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1/2 teaspoon
cinnamon
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pepper & salt to taste
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1
medium eggplant
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15 ounces
can tomatoes or 5 fresh, seeded tomatoes
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1 tablespoon
oregano or marjoram
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1/2 cup
fresh basil or (1 tablespoon dried)
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2 cups
fresh spinach leaves
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2 cups
béchamel sauce
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1/2 cup
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
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Sauté first six ingredients (#5 & #6 being salt and pepper) until the meat is nicely browned.
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Place browned meat in the bottom of a large casserole. Sprinkle chopped oregano and fresh parsley overtop.
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Then layer the next ingredients starting with thinly sliced eggplant, sprinkled with oregano, followed by tomatoes then fresh basil, followed by layered spinach leaves.
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Cover all with béchamel to seal the casserole, then top with a generous coating of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
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Bake at 350ºF for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until it is beginning to brown on top, bubbling along the sides and the eggplant is completely cooked and soft.
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