Moussaka

Cinnamon spiced lamb, grilled aubergine, a rich, cheesy bechamel sauce and fresh mint all layered into a beautiful dish and baked to golden perfection.  Serve hot straight out of oven to your family dinner table. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the lamb
500g lean lamb mince (We love Pure South)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
400g can diced organic tomatoes in juice  (We love Chantals Organics)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup Beef Stock (we love Simon Gaults)
½ cup Red Wine (We love Giesen)
2 Tbs fresh parsley – roughly chopped  (we love Superb Herb)
2Tbs fresh mint – chopped + some extra for topping  (we love Superb Herb)
¼ tsp cinnamon + some extra for the top

For the Cheese Sauce
75g butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
½ tsp nutmeg
½ cup cheddar cheese – grated (we love Mainland)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 medium-sized aubergines, ends trimmed
Extra virgin olive oil to brush aubergine slices (we love Olivado)
Extra cheddar cheese for topping

We used a Le Creuset stoneware dish to bake our Moussaka

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.  Grease a large lasagne dish.

2.   Slice the aubergine into 5mm rounds and brush both sides with olive oil.  Grill or pan-fry the slices for 3-4 minutes on until soft and browned. Set aside.

3.   Heat a dash of olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add lamb mince, breaking up the mince with a spatula as it browns. When the mince is brown, add tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock, red wine, parsley, mint and cinnamon. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

4.   While the meat sauce is cooking, make the classic cheese or Mornay sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the milk and cook over a low heat until the mixture boils and thickens.  Cool for 5 minutes before stirring in the grated cheese and egg.

5.  To assemble the moussaka, layer the mince, aubergine slices and cheese sauce.Scatter over the cheddar cheese,some extra cinnamon and mint on top.

6.   Bake in the pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and bubbling hot. Serve hot, with a simple green salad.