You build fried eggplant, spiced lamb, and a nutmeg béchamel, then bake until the top catches and bronzes. Cinnamon in the meat, potato at the base, a first bite of silky sauce over eggplant that has drunk the juices. It should rest before you cut it — a test of character, and everyone is hungry.
This is the architecture of a Greek Sunday: a baking dish for eight, the house smelling of nutmeg and olive oil. That layered Sunday version is the one that travelled.
Bake at 350°F until the top is gold with darker patches. Let it stand at least half an hour. It should slice, not slump. The first piece is a sacrifice to the tin.
Method
- 01
Salt the eggplant slices on both sides and leave them 30 minutes — they'll weep a bitter liquor, which is what you want to lose. Pat them thoroughly dry. Fry or oven-roast the eggplant and the potato slices in olive oil until both are golden, then drain them on paper. Don't skip the draining; leftover oil will make a greasy moussaka, and you have a béchamel coming that is quite rich enough.
- 02
For the meat sauce, cook the onion in a little oil until soft and sweet. Add the garlic, then the lamb, breaking it up with a spoon until it is well browned and no longer pink. Pour in the wine, the tomatoes, the cinnamon, the allspice, salt, and pepper, and simmer until the sauce is thick, about 25 minutes. It should smell of cinnamon and lamb, and a spoon dragged through it should leave a trail.
- 03
For the béchamel, melt the butter, stir in the flour, and cook 2 minutes so it loses its raw taste — a pale blond paste, not a brown one. Whisk in the warm milk, a little first, then all of it, until smooth and thick enough to coat a spoon. Off the heat, beat in the yolks, most of the cheese, a good grating of nutmeg, and salt. Taste: silky and fragrant.
- 04
In a deep baking dish, lay down the potatoes in an even layer, then a layer of eggplant, then all the meat sauce, then the remaining eggplant. You are building a Sunday architecture, so take a moment to make the layers even. Pour the béchamel over the top, spreading it so it covers every corner, and scatter the remaining cheese. It should look generous, even a little too much — that top will bronze and make the dish.
- 05
Bake at 350°F until the top is bronzed and set, 40 to 45 minutes — you want gold with darker patches, not a pale skin. Then comes the test of character: rest it at least 30 minutes before you cut, even though the house smells of nutmeg and olive oil and everyone is hungry. Be strong. It should slice, not slump, and the first piece is always a sacrifice to the tin.
