Moussakitome Baby

I recommend making the meat sauce a day ahead of putting together the Moussaka, so the flavors have a chance to meld.

For the meat sauce:

Finely chop the onion, pepper, carrots and celery and garlic (I used my mini chopper). In a large pot, saute them in butter and olive oil until soft.

Add ground beef and pork and break the meat up into small pieces it browns.

Add all the spices except bay leaves, and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Add wine, tomatoes and bay leaves and then simmer on low for at least an hour, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes. You want most of the liquid to be absorbed.

For the vegetables:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a couple of baking sheets with cooking spray.

Wash eggplant and potatoes and slice them in 1/2-inch wide rounds (peel them if you want to, but I didn’t). Sweat the eggplant for a few minutes by laying it out on paper towels and lightly salting with kosher salt. (This helps absorb some of the excess moisture.) Pat dry with paper towels.

Put the potatoes and eggplant in a large bowl (I did them separately), add some olive oil and stir around to coat. Arrange on baking sheets in a single layer and cook for about 25 minutes in the oven. Eggplant should be tender, and the potatoes should be lightly browned. (I cooked them in separate pans.)

Set aside once cooked.

For the bechamel cheese sauce:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Whisk in flour, stirring until smooth. Add milk, salt and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Simmer for a couple of minutes, whisking constantly. Add more milk if the sauce is too thick. Whisk in the cheese.

Turn off heat and allow the sauce to cool a bit, then whisk in the eggs.

To assemble:

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick spray.

Layer:
1/2 of the potatoes and eggplant
1/2 of the meat sauce
1/2 of the bechamel cheese sauce

Repeat.

Sprinkle grated parmigiano reggiano over the top.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. The top should be golden brown. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or so after it comes out of the oven and then dish it up!