| CATEGORY |
CUISINE |
TAG |
YIELD |
| Meats, Vegetables, Eggs, Dairy |
Greek |
Lamb, Greek, Vegetables |
6 |
Servings |
INGREDIENTS
| 3 |
md |
Eggplants |
| 1/2 |
c |
Vegetable oil |
| 3 |
lg |
Onions; chopped fine |
| 2 |
lb |
Ground lamb; (or beef) |
| 3 |
tb |
Tomato paste |
| 1/2 |
c |
Red wine |
| 1/2 |
c |
Chopped parsley |
| 1/4 |
ts |
Ground cinnamon |
|
|
Salt |
|
|
Freshly ground pepper |
| 1/4 |
lb |
Butter |
| 6 |
tb |
Flour |
| 1 |
qt |
Milk |
| 4 |
|
Eggs; beaten until frothy |
|
|
Grated nutmeg |
| 2 |
c |
Ricotta or cottage cheese |
| 1 |
c |
Fine bread crumbs |
| 1 |
c |
Grated Parmesan cheese |
INSTRUCTIONS
Peel the eggplants and cut them into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Brown the
slices quickly in 1/4 cup of the oil. Set aside. Heat the remaining oil in
the same skillet and cook the onions until they are brown. Add the ground
meat and cook 10 minutes. Pour off excess fat. Combine the tomato paste
with the wine, parsley, cinnamon, salt and peper. Stir this mixture into
the meat and simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, until all the
liquid has been absorbed. Remove the mixture from the fire. Preheat the
oven to 375F. Make a white sauce by melting the butter and blending in the
flour, stirring with a wire whisk. Meanwhile, bring the milk to a boil and
add it gradually to the butter-flour mixture, stirring constantly. When the
mixture is thickened and smooth, remove it from the heat. Cook slightly and
stir in the beaten eggs, nutmeg and ricotta. Grease an 11x16-inch pan and
sprinkle the bottom lightly with crumbs. Arrange alternate layers of the
eggplant and the meat sauce in the pan, sprinkling each layer with Parmesan
and crumbs. Pour the ricotta sauce over the top and bake 1 hour, or until
top is golden. Remove from the oven and cool 20 to 30 minutes before
serving. Cut into squares and serve. The flavors in this dish really
improve if you make it a day ahead.
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