When Jason and I had been married for about 8 months, eggplant was in season, and I had a hankering for moussaka, my mom’s favorite dish at our local Greek restaurant when I was growing up.  I found a few recipes online, and made them into this one.  Jason was pretty skeptical about a dish that featured eggplant, but he loved it and could have polished off a whole pan all by himself if I had let him.

I got a couple of eggplant at the farmer’s market on Saturday, and decided to resurrect my moussaka for Sunday dinner.  Yum!

Moussaka

1-2 Eggplant (1-1 1/4 pound)
1 lb Ground Turkey or Ground Beef
1 can (14.5 oz) No Salt Added Tomato Sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) No Salt Added Diced TOmatoes
1 C. Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 C. Red Wine or Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 C. Flour
1 C. Milk
2 T. Parmesan Cheese
1/2 C. Feta Cheese, crumbled
2 t. Cinnamon
8 Kalamata Olives , chopped

Slice eggplant very thinly.  Salt both sides of eggplant slices and lay on cookie sheet to sweat for 20-30 minutes.  I usually put them on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet so the liquid falls away from the eggplant.  This will prevent the eggplant from being spongy after it is cooked (which will absolutely ruin an eggplant dish for me).

Brown ground turkey/beef with onion and garlic. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes and red wine. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Add chopped olives.

Layer eggplant, then meat mixture in 13 x 9 pan, ending with meat mixture. You will probably have 2 layers of each.

Add milk to a saucepan on medium heat. Slowly stir in flour a little at a time until sauce thickens. Add feta cheese, parmesan cheese and cinnamon. Stir until well blended.

Pour white sauce over the meat and eggplant.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove foil and cook for 30 more minutes.