You’ve seen moussaka before — it’s layers of ground beef, eggplant smothered in a tangy garlic tomato sauce and topped with a creamy bechamel sauce, slightly blistered on top from baking.
The Egyptian version is very similar, except there is no bechamel sauce (which is great, because its — pardon my language — a bitch to make). I got this recipe from my lovely stepmother, Hala, and my aunt from Denmark, Omima. It’s very important to keep things as grease-free as possible…there’s a lot of olive oil in this!
Recipe:
3 medium eggplants, cut into 3/4-inch slices
1 1/2 cans tomato sauce
6 cloves of garlic, minced
3 large tomatoes, sliced thickly
2 tbs white vinegar
1/2 package ground beef
3/4 c minced parsley
1 onion, minced
salt
pepper
olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the sliced eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with a good bit of salt. Let it drain for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef and onion in a separate pan and season with salt and pepper. Add the parsley at the last minute. Drain the beef mixture on a paper towel and set aside.
When the eggplant has drained for 30 minutes, rinse the salt off the slices and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a frying pan (about 2 tbs or so) until it is very hot, and fry each piece. Drain the eggplant on a paper towel and set aside.
In a sauce pan, fry up the garlic in olive oil until it turns golden brown, but don’t burn it! Add the vinegar, and simmer for about two minutes. Add in the tomato sauce and cook to a boil, and then leave it to simmer for about 5 minutes. Season to taste, adding more vinegar if necessary. Add the meat and stir together.
Grease an 8 by 8 baking dish (or whatever fits) and layer the eggplant first, then a layer of the sliced tomatoes, and then a layer of the meat sauce. Keep repeating until you run out. Bake for about 30-40 minutes. Serve with rice or pasta.
OK– I realize there’s a lot of steps…sorry about that!
