Moussaka

A classic Middle Eastern dish.

Ingredients

Serves 6

1 tsp canola oil
1 large eggplant, sliced in 1 cm slices
400g lamb or beef mince
2 onions, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 capsicum, deseeded and chopped
½ tsp ground allspice
500g ready made pasta sauce
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 cup grated tasty cheese

White Sauce:
½ cup skim milk powder
¼ cup plain flour
½ tsp ground or freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup boiling water
1 egg

Method

Heat oil in a heavy-based frying pan and cook eggplant slices until golden brown.
Arrange in the base of an oiled ovenproof dish, or individual ramekins.
Add more oil to pan if necessary.
Brown mince, and then add onions, garlic and capsicum.
Cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are beginning to brown.
Add allspice and pasta sauce, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until the meat is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.

White sauce:
Place milk powder, flour, nutmeg and water in a heatproof bowl and beat well until smooth and creamy.
Add egg and beat again.

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Combine breadcrumbs and cheese. Sprinkle half over the eggplant.
Spoon the meat sauce over the breadcrumbs.
Add the white sauce.
Sprinkle the top with the remaining breadcrumb and cheese mixture.
Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
The moussaka sets during baking, making it easy to slice and serve.

Variation:
Replace eggplant with enough sliced vegetables to provide a generous layer in the dish
Alternatively, use courgettes, marrow, kūmara, silverbeet or spinach in place of the eggplant. Use the white stalks of silverbeet.