Moussaka

For the marinara:

Heat the olive oil, onion, garlic, and spices over medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring, until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes, stir and to bring to a bubble. Taste, and add more salt if you’d like. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, adding water 1/4 cup at a time to keep the sauce from getting too thick.

For the moussaka:

Prick the potato all over with a fork. Microwave on high for 5 minutes to start the cooking process.

Peel the eggplant lengthwise using a vegetable peeler, but leave alternating strips of peel intact. Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds and place on a paper towel. Salt the eggplant slices, and allow it to weep while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Add the olive oil and lamb. Stir, breaking up the lamb with a spoon. Cook for 7 minutes or until the meat is nearly cooked through. Add the cinnamon and allspice with a sprinkle of salt and the garlic. Stir for 2 more minutes until the meat is cooked through and the garlic is fragrant. Pour in the wine, and let bubble and reduce by half; for about 2 minutes.

Add 3 cups of the marinara to the meat mixture and stir to combine. Taste, and add more salt, crushed red pepper, or allspice to your taste. Keep it warm.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, mozzarella, and feta. Stir to mix, and add a sprinkle of salt. Set aside.

When cool enough to handle, thinly slice the potato, 1/4 inch thick or smaller.

Make the moussaka. In the bottom of an 8×10 (or close to it) deep baking dish (3 inches or higher, or use a larger dish), spread 2/3 cup of the meat sauce.

Top the meat sauce with half the eggplant slices, overlapping if you need to. Top the eggplant with another layer of sauce.

Over the sauce, layer the entire potato, shingling to overlap the slices.

Top the potato layer with a thin layer of sauce and another layer of eggplant. Top the second layer of eggplant with all the remaining sauce.

Top the moussaka with the egg/cheese mixture. Spread gently and leave a 1-inch rim around the edge of the baking dish so the cheese has room to spread.

Top the entire thing with the bread crumbs.

Cover the dish with foil and store in the fridge for up to 3 days, if you’d like. Or, bake and serve immediately!

When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake the moussaka for 30 minutes, covered. Remove the foil and bake for 15 minutes more until the cheese is browned on top and the moussaka is bubbly.

Remove it from the oven. Let it rest for 15 minutes, then cut into squares like lasagna and serve.

You will LOVE this. It’s worth every bit of effort to make, and is really simple once you gather the ingredients!