Children seem to have a “textural alarm” within their mouth cavity that goes off whenever a food item that doesn’t quite appeal passes their tastebuds. For example, pureed cream of chicken and vegetable soup is deemed “baby food”, whereas a chunky chicken and vegetable soup with robust barley or mini meatballs is wolfed down without complaint. Similarly, eggplant with the skin on is eaten under duress, but remove the skin and prepare it with the traditional salting, rinsing and flash pan frying method and it simply melts into the rest of the dish.
I prepared Neil Perry’s Baked Moussaka this evening – classic Greek cuisine – the recipe pulled out of The Sydney Morning Herald’sGood Weekend magazine on 22ndJune. I have made several of his recipes published in the weekend paper with great success and always look forward to the next instalment. Although his recipe for Moussaka catered for four people, it could be easily doubled to suit my family of seven with leftovers. This makes it an ideal recipe for when catering to a crowd of people, such as a family function, since it can be made a day in advance and then warmed prior to serving.
Moussaka always includes eggplant, also called aubergine, and this is another favourite ingredient of mine. It is so versatile – it can be chargrilled, braised, stuffed, slow cooked, fried and even pickled. It has a reliable moisture content, smoky flavour and the ability to pad out a meal with the added benefits of flavour, zero saturated fat, plus nutrients including potassium, magnesium, vitamins C and B-6.
I picked up four gloriously glossy and plump, deep purple coloured eggplants from Fruit at Hunters Hill. Although the skins were thin enough, I peeled them anyway to avoid that “textural alarm” beeping away as my children ate.
Bear in mind that preparation for this dish will require you to use several pots and pans – 4 in total so there is a bit of initial fiddling about and final washing up before the actual dish goes into the oven. However, the effort is well worth it as this dish tastes sensational! This meal is complemented with a bowl of young rocket tossed through with freshly seeded pomegranates and balsamic vinegar.
Moist Baked Moussaka – I have included Neil Perry’s original version which serves 4 people. Double this if required. I have however written the method in my own words based on how I prepared the dish this afternoon in my home kitchen.
Ingredients
2 large eggplant, cut into 5 mm slices
sea salt and black pepper to taste
olive oil
2 small brown onions finely chopped
4 cloves garlic crushed
500 g good quality lamb mince
400 g tin chopped tomatoes
4 tablespoons tomato paste (I used the Lego’s brand)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon caster sugar
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
Bechamel Sauce
50 g unsalted butter
4 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups warm milk
4 tablespoons grated parmesan
Salt the eggplant and set aside in a bowl for 1 hour. Then, rinse under cold water in a colander, drain and pat dry with a clean tea towel. Add a little olive oil to a wide frypan and fry the pieces in batches over a hight heat. You will need to drizzle in more oil each time a new batch of eggplant is added to the pan.
While the eggplant is relaxing in salt, make the meat and bechamel sauces.
For the bechamel, melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the plain flour cooking it for about 2 minutes. Take care not to let it burn. Slowly pour in the warm milk, whisking continuously to smooth out any lumps and bring it to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir through the parmesan.
For the meat sauce, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions and garlic over a low heat for about 8 minutes or until they start to look golden and glossy. Add the cinnamon and the minced lamb and stir to break up any lumps. Once the meat has been browned, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley and sugar. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
To assemble the Moist Baked Moussaka place a layer of eggplant in the bottom of either 4 individual ceramic ramekins or one large 1.2 litre dish. Spoon some of the meat sauce over the top followed by another layer of eggplant and then meat sauce again. Continue until all the eggplant and meat sauce has been used. Top with a thick layer of bechamel sauce sprinkled with the extra 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan.
Bake in a preheated fan forced oven at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes if using individual ramekins, and 30 minutes if using a large, single dish.
Ingredients
2 large eggplant, cut into 5 mm slices
sea salt and black pepper to taste
olive oil
2 small brown onions finely chopped
4 cloves garlic crushed
500 g good quality lamb mince
400 g tin chopped tomatoes
4 tablespoons tomato paste (I used the Lego’s brand)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon caster sugar
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
Bechamel Sauce
50 g unsalted butter
4 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups warm milk
4 tablespoons grated parmesan
Salt the eggplant and set aside in a bowl for 1 hour. Then, rinse under cold water in a colander, drain and pat dry with a clean tea towel. Add a little olive oil to a wide frypan and fry the pieces in batches over a hight heat. You will need to drizzle in more oil each time a new batch of eggplant is added to the pan.
While the eggplant is relaxing in salt, make the meat and bechamel sauces.
For the bechamel, melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the plain flour cooking it for about 2 minutes. Take care not to let it burn. Slowly pour in the warm milk, whisking continuously to smooth out any lumps and bring it to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir through the parmesan.
For the meat sauce, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions and garlic over a low heat for about 8 minutes or until they start to look golden and glossy. Add the cinnamon and the minced lamb and stir to break up any lumps. Once the meat has been browned, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley and sugar. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
To assemble the Moist Baked Moussaka place a layer of eggplant in the bottom of either 4 individual ceramic ramekins or one large 1.2 litre dish. Spoon some of the meat sauce over the top followed by another layer of eggplant and then meat sauce again. Continue until all the eggplant and meat sauce has been used. Top with a thick layer of bechamel sauce sprinkled with the extra 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan.
Bake in a preheated fan forced oven at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes if using individual ramekins, and 30 minutes if using a large, single dish.
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