My husband(carnivore) and 2 year old both gobbled it up! I used a lot of the suggestions above, doubling the spices and draining the tomatoes, which helped. I had a little trouble with the bechamel. I make standard white sauce(2T butter, 2T flour, 1c milk) frequently, but always have trouble with eggs curdling if I try to make something like this. Maybe I'm not patient enough. I split the recipe between two 9 inch square casseroles, one for tonight and one to freeze. I'll make my go to white sauce for the top of the freezer version.
Lamb Moussaka
Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Mary Catherine Muir
This lamb-and-eggplant casserole is the national dish of Greece. It's a great recipe for entertaining. Serve the moussaka with a Greek salad.
Yield: 8 servings
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Nutritional Information
Amount per serving
- Calories: 374
- Calories from fat: 28%
- Fat: 11.7g
- Saturated fat: 4.3g
- Monounsaturated fat: 4.9g
- Polyunsaturated fat: 1g
- Protein: 28.1g
- Carbohydrate: 40.4g
- Fiber: 4.7g
- Cholesterol: 69mg
- Iron: 3.5mg
- Sodium: 933mg
- Calcium: 200mg
Ingredients
- LAMB MIXTURE:
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground lamb or beef
- 2 cups chopped onion
- Cooking spray
- 1/2 cup dried currants or raisins
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- SAUCE:
- 2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
- 1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
- 3 large egg whites
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- REMAINING INGREDIENTS:
- 2 (1 1/4-pound) eggplants, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 1 pound peeled baking potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
- Oregano sprigs (optional)
Preparation
- To prepare lamb mixture, cook lamb in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until browned; stir to crumble. Remove from pan; drain. Set aside. Wipe skillet with paper towels.
- Add onion to pan coated with cooking spray; sauté 5 minutes. Add lamb, currants, and next 7 ingredients (currants through garlic); bring to a boil. Cook until thick (about 30 minutes).
- Preheat broiler.
- To prepare sauce, cook 1 1/2 cups milk and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edge (do not boil). Remove from heat. Combine 1/2 cup milk, egg whites, flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; gradually add the hot milk mixture to the egg white mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return milk mixture to pan, and cook until thick (about 15 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
- Place half of eggplant slices on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and brush with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil. Broil 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant and 1 1/2 teaspoons oil.
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Cook potato slices in boiling water 5 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain well.
- Arrange potatoes in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange half the eggplant slices over potatoes. Pour 4 cups lamb mixture over eggplant, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon cheese. Arrange remaining eggplant over cheese, and top with the remaining lamb mixture. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon cheese. Spread sauce over cheese, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown. Let stand 15 minutes. Garnish with oregano sprigs, if desired.
Lamb Moussaka Recipe at a Glance
- COURSE: Main Dishes
- CONVENIENCE: Entertaining
- CUISINE: Greek
- MAIN INGREDIENT: Lamb, Vegetables
- PUBLICATION: Cooking Light
More Recipes for Main Dishes
-
Moussaka With Eggplant and Peppers and Yogurt Béchamel
Cooking Light -
Mock Moussaka
Real Simple -
Potato and Lamb Moussaka
Cooking Light
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