Moussaka (Greek casserole with eggplant)

Vegetables:

1. The basic vegetable for preparing moussaka is eggplant. It is also very common in Greece to use potatoes and sometimes zucchini.
2. I personally recommend using potatoes as the bottom layer and eggplants as the middle layer.
3. Peel the potatoes and wash the rest of the vegetables.
4. Cut all the vegetables into slices about 1 cm thick (a little less than 0.5 inch).
5. Salt the eggplants and set them aside for 30 minutes. After this time, rinse from the salt and dry, using paper towels. This will get rid of excess bitterness.
6. Traditionally, vegetables for moussaka are fried in oil. However, this process is very time-consuming and, in my opinion, adds unnecessary extra calories.
7. I recommend arranging the vegetables in baking trays lined with baking paper, seasoning them with salt and pepper and brushing them on both sides with olive oil or oil.
8. Put the vegetables in a preheated oven (190°C / 370°F) for 20 minutes.
9. The vegetables should be slightly raw on the inside and toasted on the outside.

Sauce:

1. The sauce for moussaka is a meat sauce, much like Italian ragu. Traditionally, ground lamb is used. If you don't like its strong flavor or don't have access to it, use any kind of meat. I usually use beef. A vegetarian version based on mushrooms and lentils is also an interesting variant (Leave a comment if you want to know the recipe).
2. To start, peel and chop the garlic and onion.
3. In a skillet, heat a little olive oil, add the onions and fry over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.
4. Add the ground meat and break it up as it fries.
5. When the meat starts to brown, add chopped garlic and tomato puree.
6. Fry the whole thing for another 3-4 minutes. Then add the red wine and, while stirring, scrape any browned parts of the sauce from the bottom.
7. When the wine has evaporated almost completely, add the canned tomatoes along with the sugar, thyme, bay leaf, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. (The allspice, cloves and bay leaf are best added in a special spice basket. This way you can remove them efficiently after the sauce is cooked).
8. Stir the whole thing and cook for 30-40 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough for the moussaka to hold its shape.
9. Finally, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bechamel:

1. In a pot, melt butter.
2. Add flour, stir and fry until slightly golden.
3. Pour in the milk in a thin stream, stirring all the time so that no lumps form.
4. When the sauce begins to thicken, add salt, pepper and grated nutmeg to taste.
5. The sauce should be slightly thick, but still pourable.
6. Remove the bechamel from the heat, add the egg yolks and 3/4 of the grated cheese. Stir quickly and thoroughly, so that the yolks do not curdle but combine with the sauce.

Assembling:

1. Lightly grease the bottom of an 8x12 inch (20x30 cm) heatproof dish with olive oil or oil.
2. Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom.
3. Top with half of the meat sauce.
4. Then arrange a layer of eggplants and the rest of the sauce.
5. Pour bechamel over the whole thing and sprinkle with the rest of the grated cheese.
6. Place in an oven preheated to 180°C (350°F) and bake for about 40 minutes or until the top of the moussaka is golden brown.
7. It's a good idea to wait about 30 minutes before cutting. This will help the portions retain their nice shape.