RCP: Lamb Moussaka with Currants

Lamb Moussaka with Currants

Courtesy of Bon Appétit, May 1995 (modified)

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

Tomato Sauce:
5 Tbsp olive oil
3 large green peppers, seeded, cut into ½ inch pieces
1½ lb ground lamb
2 cup chopped onion
⅔ cup dry red wine
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 28-oz cans Italian-style tomatoes, drained, chopped
½ cup dried currants
2 Tbsp tomato paste
pinch nutmeg

Moussaka
2 large eggplants (about 2 ¼ lbs total), sliced lengthwise into ¼ inch slices
2 tsp sea salt
olive oil
1 lb russet potatoes (2 medium), peeled
3 c. plain yogurt (don't use low- or non-fat)
3 large egg yolks

Directions

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add peppers and sauté until tender and beginning to colour, about 8 minutes. Transfer peppers to bowl. Sauté lamb in remaining oil over medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 6 minutes. Add onion and sauté until onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Add wine and cayenne pepper and cook 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, currants, tomato paste and nutmeg. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer until sauce is very thick and reduced to 6 cups, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour, 10 min. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, line large baking sheet with foil. Arrange eggplant slices in layers on prepared baking sheet, sprinkling each layer with sea salt. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Preheat broiler. Line another large baking sheet with foil. Pat eggplant slices dry with paper towels. Arrange some of eggplant slices in a single layer on second sheet. Brush lightly on both sides with olive oil. Broil until golden brown, about 4 min. per side. Transfer to platter. Repeat with remaining eggplant.
Boil potatoes in large pot of salted water 5 minutes. Drain. Cool. Cut potatoes into ¼ inch thick slices.

Preheat oven to 400º F. Coat 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish with oil. Arrange potatoes in bottom of dish. Top with half the eggplant, half the sauce, the green peppers, the remaining eggplant and the remaining sauce.

Bake until bubbling around edges, about 45 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat. Press down on moussaka with back of spoon to compact layers. Whisk yogurt and eggs together. Pour over moussaka, covering completely. Bake until topping is softly set, about 15 minutes. Let stand 20 minutes and serve. May be made a day ahead and reheated at 400ºF for 30 minutes.

Looks good. Looks like a lot of work, too.

And so much green pepper?

[Jenise]

Sounds absolutely delicious, though it's quite different from what my friends made--that sauce, and the yoghurt topping instead of bechamel. Speaking of the sauce, two 28 ounce cans of tomato plus 2/3 c wine is essentially a quart. That's a lot for a 13x9 inch baking dish (back in '95, that was practically the only option, wasn't it)! Bet it's a careful walk to the oven getting all those ingredients in there without slopping over.

Btw, my friends only used tomato paste and red wine. It was a drier than other versions I've had but I liked that.

In our younger years we used to take our annual holiday on a Greek island. The Greek Government were opening islands to passenger flights using previously military airstrips. The company we used specialised in off the beaten track places, so we'd go the fist year the island was open to flights, and before mass tourism, they'd rent houses and apartments for us.

So we ate at tavernas, and people who'd put a few chairs and tables outside their houses and serve what they were cooking for dinner.

So I enjoyed quite a lot of moussaka - only ever lamb.

Ted, did you make this dish?

I used to make it at home, but as Jeff says, it's a lot of work. I suppose there's as many recipes as there are Greek cooks, but I never had bell peppers or currants in them. Basically, like all peasant cooking, it was a way to stretch meat with cheap ingredients and eggplants grew like weeds.

Over here moussaka is topped with cheese and as I don't eat cheese, I've not had it here.

I don't understand the point of currents. I suppose they're to make it sweet but to me it's a savoury dish.

Ted, did you make this dish?

I don't understand the point of currents. I suppose they're to make it sweet but to me it's a savoury dish.

I made it once, years ago. It was good, but as you and Jeff said it's a lot of work. I'm pretty sure I left out the currants.

Why not use a low-fat or non-fat product? I use them all the time and see zero difference, except in my weight. The recipe sounds delish!! I see a few steps we can shorten. Why not sauté the meat and veggies together?

Currants, I think, are a holdover from earlier days when the food supply was a little less reliable. If your eggplants or peppers or even tomatoes were a little bitter, you could toss a few sweet "plums" -- raisins, currants, sultanas, etc. -- in there to balance it out.

I like eggplant and I've recently made both imam bayildi and caponata. They are less work than this one....