Food

Moussaka

The world's best casserole

Moussaka is the sophisticated sibling of a shepherd's pie — the one wearing their glasses a little too far down their nose. Very well read and slightly intimidating at first glance. But living proof that what's on the inside is what counts. It may not be the prettiest dish on the table, but its depth and flavor seem boundless. It's indulgent but if you ate it seaside at a restaurant in the summer, you'd still want to go skinny dipping after.

I first had this at Kokkari Estiatorio, the Greek institution in San Francisco, and adapted their recipe to my lifestyle. Theirs is amazing, but mine is simply extraordinary.

Make it on a Sunday to have leftovers on Monday if you are new to the kitchen. It gets better with time, as all good things do.

Serves 4. About 2½ hours.

Ingredients

1 large globe eggplant
1 lb Yukon gold potatoes (3 large)
¼ cup olive oil, divided
1¼ lb ground lamb or meat
½ lb white onions, finely chopped (about half a large onion)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp honey
1 bay leaf
¾ tsp each allspice, cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg
Sea salt and black pepper

Custard

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
3¾ cups whole milk, warmed
1 whole egg plus 1 yolk
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
¼ cup Greek whole-milk yogurt
⅛ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Method

1.Heat the oven to 425°F. Cut the eggplant into ½-inch rounds and the potatoes a little thinner, ⅜-inch, so they finish together. Toss each with a lot of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Two trays, lined with foil if you like an easy cleanup. Both in at once, 20 to 25 minutes, until tender and just taking on color.
2.While those are in the oven, start the lamb. Finely chop the onions and soften them in a little olive oil over high heat, about four minutes — fragrant, not browned. Add the lamb and break it up completely. Cook until no pink remains, then drain it. Fat, liquid, all of it. A wet filling makes soggy layers.
3.Return the meat to the pan with the tomato paste, honey, bay leaf, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Simmer over medium-low until dry and smelling like you did something your neighbors are talking about, about 10 minutes. Bay leaf out and season with salt and pepper. Taste as you go. The reason restaurant food tastes like restaurant food is they are always adding more salt than you think you should. Add the salt. It won't kill you, unless you think it well. What a boring way to die.
4.Now the béchamel, which is just a fancy word for butter, flour, and milk mixed together. Melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook three minutes, until it smells faintly nutty. Add the warm milk in stages — warm, not cold — whisking as you go. Gentle simmer, then low for 20 minutes, stirring now and then so it doesn't burn. Off the heat, 1 tsp salt, let it cool. Whisk in the egg and yolk, the cheese, the yogurt, the nutmeg. Congrats, you've just made custard.
5.Turn the oven down to 375°F. In a deep 8×10 casserole dish, layer the potatoes on the bottom, then the eggplant, then the lamb pressed flat over the top. Pour the custard over everything and spread it to the edges. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is deeply golden and just barely set. It should quiver very slightly when you move the pan.
6.Then leave it alone for 45 minutes. The custard has to set. Go use your brain and play fishbowl with your company.
7.Serve with romaine, cucumber, dill, feta, good olive oil, and the juice of a lemon.

It's better the next day. This recipe is secretly my way of getting you to cook for more people than you planned. Enjoy leftovers and a second round of your glory.