Rain, rain, rain. Vancouver’s signature calling card for fall has hit us hard and all I want to do is curl up at home and eat leftover casserole to comfort my sad, sun-deprived soul. I totally understand why casseroles are called comfort food now. It comforts me when I’m feeling cold and grey like the weather. It perks me up with delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen, the anticipation of reward, the deep satisfaction of stuffing my face with it.
So I made some moussaka — a Greek casserole layered with roasted potatoes, eggplant, spiced meat, covered with a thick blanket of decadent béchamel sauce. Mmmmm…Moussaka. Come to momma and make me happy again.
Making this particular casserole not only brought joy to my taste buds but holistic therapy to my soul. You see, several weeks ago, Darren and I went for a long hike. (Settle in, guys. This is a chicken soup lamb moussaka for the soul story). Of course, it was raining. Nevertheless, it was one of the best hikes we had ever done because:
- There were so few people on the trail. More people than I expected on a rainy day (it is Vancouver after all, what even is an umbrella), but significantly fewer people for a popular hiking trail.
- The falls were at their fullest splendour.
- We crossed some slippery, sketchily balanced logs to get to the other side, thus testing (and overcoming?) my fear of heights and my even greater fear of dying by doing something stupid.
After that long, cold, wet, slightly-adrenaline-inducing hike, we were famished. We decided to splurge on dinner because hey, we saved so much money on a free hike! We agreed on The Greek by Anatoli, as it was close to home and we’d been wanting to check it out for several years. Yes, that’s not a typo. Years.
Anyhoo, I ordered a ton of food because I wanted to try everything. Also, because Darren was parking the car and wasn’t there to be the voice of reason. I ordered the octopus appetizer and the dip taster platter — 3 kinds of dips, hummus, roasted garlic, and tzatziki, with pita bread. The server gave me the option of substituting veggies for the pita and I gave her an emphatic NO THANKS. I want the carbs, baby! For my main, I ordered the moussaka (Darren had the lamb platter, and it was spectacular). It was exactly what I had been craving all day — a piping hot, cheesy, carby, meaty dish that would warm my ice-cold inner organs. But…by the time I got to the moussaka, I was so full. I only ate half of it and my insides, though warm, felt like they were about to burst. Also, as good as it tasted, the béchamel layer was so pitifully thin it looked like it had been painted on. So I regretfully packed it up, rueing the fact that I didn’t even have room for dessert, and took my leftovers home, hoping and eagerly looking forward to eating it the next day.
BUT I WAS DENIED THE PLEASURE BECAUSE MY CHILDREN ATE IT.
The end.
Ya, right. As if I’d let my moussaka cravings just go away. I resolved to have my moussaka and eat it. This time, with a thick, decadent, heart-attack-inducing layer of béchamel. This time, with ground lamb. This time, with enough left-overs to feed an army.
So I did. *Cue montage music* I researched a bunch of recipes and Frankenstein-ed them together to create my mega moussaka. I roasted the potatoes and eggplants to side-step all the mess and calories of frying. I added lamb sausage for a richer, more authentic taste. And I made my béchamel layer an inch thick.
Also, I have OCD. Not super intense OCD, but enough to make me enjoy gazing at the photo above to re-live that amazing, deep sense of accomplishment and fulfilment when I realized that every last drop of the béchamel sauce fit perfectly into my Le Creuset casserole dish. And this is after I fit exactly two roasted russet potatoes, two roasted eggplants, and one recipe for meat sauce filling in the dish — from two different recipes! As my oldest daughter wryly stated: my OCD was on fire.
AND we had plenty left to feed an army. Ok, maybe not an army, but I brought the leftovers to my moms’ group the next day and fed some hungry, hardworkin’ mommas. It felt wonderful to feed my friends. Even though most people only got a small slice, sometimes it’s just the simple act of sharing food and eating together that brings joy and happiness into our lives.
(It also got rave reviews and recipe requests, which is why I decided to post the recipe here.)
Moussaka for the soul.
xoxo
mlee
Lamb Moussaka
Serves 8
Ingredients
- 2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into 0.5 cm rounds
- 2 Japanese eggplants, sliced into 0.5 cm slices
- salt
- pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
Meat filling:
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- ~ 600 g ground beef
- ~ 400 g lamb sausage
- 1 5oz can tomato paste
- 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, torn into small pieces, juice discarded
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- salt
- pepper
- 1/4 cup parsley, minced
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 egg yolks
Instructions
Vegetables:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Arrange potato and eggplant slices on two roasting pans, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 20 minutes, remove eggplant tray and roast potatoes for another 5 minutes.
- When vegetables are done roasting, set aside to cool.
Meat Filling:
- Heat up a large pan on high heat and swirl some extra virgin olive oil in it. Once the pan is hot, sauté onion and garlic until fragrant and translucent. Add ground beef and lamb sausage.
- Using a flat wooden spatula, break up ground meat into very small pieces, mincing with the edge of the spatula. Cook till all the meat is nice and browned.
- Add tomato paste and mix well, continuing to mince the meat with the spatula. Sauté for a few minutes till mixture is thick.
- Add whole tomatoes (torn into small pieces) and mix well. Season with thyme, oregano, cloves, cinnamon, sugar, salt, pepper, and half of the parsley, reserving the rest for garnish. Mix well, remove the pan from heat, and set aside.
Béchemel Sauce:
- Melt the butter over medium heat. Sprinkle flour over the butter, whisking it in with a silicone whisk. Continue whisking for another 1-2 minutes. The mixture will be quite thick.
- Gradually add the milk while continually whisking to prevent lumps. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the Parmesan cheese, whipping cream, salt and nutmeg. Continue whisking until all the lumps have dissolved and until it thickens. Simmer for about 3 minutes (whisking all the while).
- Turn off heat and remove the saucepan from the burner. Allow sauce to cool for about 10-20 minutes.
- Whisk in the egg yolks until well blended and smooth.
To Assemble:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a 9x13x3 inch casserole dish, place 1/2 of the potatoes, 1/2 of the eggplant, then 1/2 of the meat filling. Repeat layers with the other half.
- Top with béchemel sauce, spreading it evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove casserole and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Sprinkle remaining parsley over the top before serving.
Mariam says
Amazing recipe, Marie!!! I loved every single bite of it! I didn’t taste any gameyness with the lamb! Thanks for sharing ! Perfect recipe.
Marie Lee says
Thanks Mariam! So glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for commenting hehe xx
Cherie Lee says
Can’t wait to try making this! Xoxo