Passover 5772 Second Course

Egyptian Moussaka

Claudia Roden The Book of Jewish Food

2 lbs eggplants, cut in thin slices
Salt
Oil for frying
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 lbs groud lamb or beef
1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
.5 teaspon allspice
Pepper
2 tablespoons tomato puree (a pure unflavored type)
a bunch of flat leafed parsley, finely chopped  (1/2 cup)
1.5 lbs tomatoes, thinly slices
1 teaspoon of sugar or more ( optional)


Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and leave them for about an hour, then rinse and dry them on a tea towel or paper towels. Fry in very hot oil very briefly, turning them over once, so that they are only lightly browned allover and do not have much time to absorb too much oil (they are cooked further later). Drain on layers of paper towel and cover with more paper towels to get rid of the excess oil. Instead of frying, you may brush the eggplants with oil and grill them under the broiler.

Fry the oonions in 2 tablespoons of oil until soft and golden, add the garlic, and fry till the aroma rises.  Add the ground meat, cinnamon, allspice, salt and plenty of pepper. Crush the meat with a fork and mix well until it changes color. Add the tomato puree and cook for about 10 minutes , then stir in the flat leafed parsley.

Assemble the moussaka in a baking dish. arrange a layer of fried or broiled eggplant slices at the bottom. Cover with a layer of tomato slices. (If the tomatoes are not tasty enough, sprinkle them with a teaspoon or more of sugar.) Sprinkle lightly with salt and spread the ground meat filling on top.
cover with a second layer of eggplant and tomato slices. Bake uncovered foe 30 -45 minutes at 350 degrees F.