This is my take on the classic Greek moussaka. I found the recipe in the Thorn Cookery Book for Electrical Appliances, a cookery book I bought before going off to Poly.
Instead of aubergines, the recipe uses potatoes which are thinly sliced and then fried. The first time I cooked it, I did as instructed but after all that faffing around, the fried potatoes looked just like crisps so I decided to substitute crisps the next time I cooked it and it worked perfectly.
It’s nice served with small jacket potatoes which you can start off ahead in the oven so that they are all ready together.
INGREDIENTS:
MOUSSAKA:
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 aubergine, chopped
1 courgette, chopped
oregano
400g cooked lentils
2 x 400g can of tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato purée
1 large bag crisps
CHEESE SAUCE:
500ml milk
2 heaped teaspoons Dijon mustard
100g butter
a large wooden spoon of flour
large handful strong cheese, grated
1 egg
salt and pepper
METHOD:
Heat the oven to 180ºC-200ºC.
Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic and fry for a couple of minutes and then add the other vegetables. Fry until soft.
Pour in the tomatoes, lentils, tomato purée and oregano, season with salt and pepper and cook until the tomatoes have reduced and you have a highly flavoured tomato sauce.
Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce. In a saucepan, melt. Add the flour, stirring well and then gradually whisk in the milk. Season with salt and pepper and add the mustard, and cook gently on a low heat, stirring from time to time. When the sauce has thickened, take off the heat and stir in the grated cheese. Leave to cool.
In a large glass dish, put a layer of half the tomato/vegetable mixture and cover with a layer of crisps. Top with the remaining tomato/vegetables and finish with another layer of crisps.
When the sauce has cooled down, beat in an egg and pour over the top of the moussaka. Sprinkle with some grated cheese.
Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown. It’s a good idea to check after 20 minutes and turn the dish round if necessary so that it cooks evenly.
Serve with jacket potatoes.
