Lamb Moussaka
Easter Recipes Potatoes Meat Dishes Lamb
Happy Holidays! Although I'm not celebrating Easter right now, I took advantage of this week's lamb sale and bought a shoulder, which I deboned, cleaned of tendons, and ground in my meat grinder. Then I transformed it into this delicious moussaka with Moroccan influences. The moussaka has a special yogurt "crust" flavored with mint and parsley. This fresh crust balances well the bottom part, which is richer, slightly sweet, and well-seasoned. I paired it with a glass of Cesari Mara Ripasso 2009 red wine (my favorite red wine tasted in 2012).
Ingredients
500g ground lamb
1 onion
1 large clove garlic
80ml dry red wine
2 heaping teaspoons pepper paste
3 canned tomatoes (+ their juice)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick (about 3cm)
10 turns chili
1/4 bunch parsley
6 mint leaves
1 eggplant
5 potatoes
300ml yogurt (I used 150ml fat Greek yogurt and 150ml plain yogurt)
2 egg yolks
6 tablespoons oil
salt, black pepper
Servings: 3
How to prepare lamb moussaka
- Chop the onion very finely. Sauté in 2 tablespoons of hot oil until soft. Add the ground meat and sauté until the liquid evaporates and it starts to brown slightly.
- Add the crushed garlic and sauté for another minute.
- Add the wine and let it evaporate.
- Add the spices (cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili), salt and pepper to taste, and the pepper paste. Sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and their juice (blended until smooth) and another 100ml water. Bring to a boil.
- Simmer the meat sauce covered, over low heat, for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, slice the eggplant into rounds. Brush with oil and grill in a very hot grill pan (preheated for 5 minutes), about 5 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and sprinkle with salt and a little freshly ground pepper.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet. Peel the potatoes and slice them, not too thick. Fry in oil until lightly browned on both sides. Remove onto paper towels to absorb excess oil. Sprinkle with a little salt.
- When the sauce is ready, turn off the heat and add the finely chopped parsley and mint (save 1 teaspoon of herbs for the crust).
- In a heat-resistant dish (15 x 23 cm), layer fried potatoes, then eggplant, then meat. Repeat, adding another layer of potatoes, then eggplant, and finally a layer of meat.
- Mix the yogurt with the reserved herbs, salt, and beaten egg yolks. Pour this mixture over the last layer of meat.
- Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes.
Fried meat and onion
Meat sauce
Layer of potatoes in the dish
Meat layer
Yoghurt crust
