labour of love

After my children were born I was lucky enough to have deliveries of food - even in those early days when we were still in hospital with our first born. Those meals made a huge difference to us and were such a gesture of love at a time when we had to resort to hospital food.

My sister-in-law makes a mean moussaka and the other evening, as I unpacked my Harvest Hub of eggplants, I dreamed of the moussaka she brought us in hospital. I hadn't attempted moussaka before but the seasonal change and cooler autumnal weather lends itself perfectly to the dish which is said to originate in Greece. I found this recipe on the SBS food website. 

The time had come to sacrifice poor dear George William Henry McDonald III Junior Senior. 

notes

On J's last trip away he brought me back some dried 'moussaka mix' which is a blend of herbs and spices so I decided to add this to the dish (at the time I added the other herbs and spices.) I also added a good handful of fresh mint.

I bought the already-diced lamb from award winning Millin's Fine Food Butcher. The boys had trimmed the fat and taken it off the bone - saving me a good half hour. 

I decided to complete the cooking of lamb in the oven on a low heat (100ºc).

This dish takes a lot of preparation. I recommend attempting it on a weekend. The lamb mixture could be completed in a slow cooker the day before you intend to assemble and eat it.

When I came to making the béchamel sauce I thought that perhaps I should have just used the cheat's method for white sauce in a lasagne - ricotta. I was also dubious when I added the (1/2 cup) flour. It didn't seem enough then by some glorious fusion of science and magic adding the milk just bulked up the sauce. It was a delight to watch! I then considered omitting the egg yolks (surely it would be too rich) but against my judgement I added them and this deliciously thick, yellow sauce emerged. 

I didn't have kefalograviera so I had to use the measly chunk of parmigiana I found lurking in the cheese shelf of the fridge. I only had 50g but it seems to do the job of adding a salty and stringy cheesiness to the sauce.

Moussaka is labour intensive (pardon the pun) but well worth it. After all - nothing is as painful (or rewarding) as childbirth. 

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Moussaka recipe care of SBS Food.

Serves 8

You will need a 22 cm square baking dish for this recipe. 

ingredients

185 ml (3/4 cup) olive oil
1.5 kg lamb shoulder, cut into 4cm pieces
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 rosemary sprig
1 cinnamon quill
1 tsp ground allspice
125 ml (1/2 cup) dry red wine
800 g can chopped tomatoes
1.5 kg eggplant, cut into 5mm slices
 

béchamel sauce
80 g butter, chopped
75 g (1/2 cup) plain flour
500 ml (2 cups) warmed milk
100 g kefalograviera*, grated
2 egg yolks
¼ tsp grated nutmeg

method

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Cook lamb, in 3 batches, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl. 

Heat 1 tbsp oil in the same pan. Add onion, carrot and celery, and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook for a further minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes or until combined. Add herbs, spices, wine and tomatoes, and bring to the boil. Return lamb to the pan and cover with a tight-fitting lid. 


 
Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1½ hours. Uncover and cook for a further hour or until lamb is tender.  

Meanwhile, soak eggplant in water for 1 hour. Drain. Pat dry with paper towel.  

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook one-third of the eggplant for 3 minutes each side or until golden. Drain on paper towel. Repeat twice more with remaining oil and eggplant. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 200°C. To make béchamel, melt butter in a pan over high heat. Add flour and stir for 2 minutes or until mixture begins to bubble. Add milk, whisking continuously, for 3 minutes or until mixture comes to the boil. Remove from heat, add cheese and stir until melted. Stir in egg yolks and nutmeg. Season sauce and lamb with salt and pepper.

Using 2 forks, roughly shred lamb in pan and remove cinnamon. 

Place one-third of the eggplant in the base of a 22 cm square baking dish. Top with half the lamb. Add half the remaining eggplant, then the remaining lamb. 

Top with remaining eggplant and spread over béchamel. 

 
Bake moussaka for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve.

* A hard Greek sheep’s-milk cheese from selected delis and specialist food shops.