← Nouns Cooking · Greek

Ingredients

• 1 kg Aubergine (eggplant), sliced into 1 cm rounds
• 500 g Potato, peeled and sliced 5 mm thick
• 5 tbsp olive oil, plus extra
• 700 g lamb or beef mince
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 150 ml dry red wine
• 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (or 1 cinnamon stick)
• 2 tsp Dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 60 g Butter
• 60 g Plain (all-purpose) flour
• 700 ml whole milk, warmed
• ¼ tsp Nutmeg, freshly grated
• 60 g kefalotyri or parmesan, finely grated
• 2 egg yolks
• Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, 400°F). Lay the aubergine and potato slices on 2–3 lined trays, brush both sides with oil and season with salt. Roast for 25–30 min, turning once, until soft and golden at the edges. This is lighter and easier than frying.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a wide pan over medium heat and cook the onion for 5 min until soft. Add the garlic, then turn the heat up, add the mince and fry for 8–10 min, breaking it up, until browned and no longer pink.
3. Pour in the wine and let it bubble away for 2 min. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon, oregano, bay leaf, sugar and a good pinch of salt. Simmer on low for 30 min, uncovered, until thick and jammy with no watery juices. Remove the bay leaf and season.
4. For the béchamel, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the warm milk a little at a time, whisking constantly, then simmer for 5 min until it is as thick as custard. Off the heat, stir in the nutmeg and most of the cheese. Let it cool for 5 min, then whisk in the yolks.
5. Assemble in a dish about 23 × 33 cm: a layer of potatoes, half the aubergine, all the meat sauce, then the rest of the aubergine. Pour over the béchamel, spread it to the edges and scatter with the remaining cheese.
6. Turn the oven down to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F) and bake for 45–50 min until the top is puffed and deep golden in patches.
7. Rest for at least 20 min before cutting, or the layers will slide apart. It slices even better the next day.

Tips

• Make the meat sauce a day ahead: the flavour deepens and assembly takes minutes.
• Kefalotyri is a salty Greek hard cheese; pecorino or parmesan are good stand-ins.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

RecipeTin Eats My Greek Dish BBC Good Food