Moussaka

I love Moussaka, it's the eggplant and the way it's able to absorb soooo much olive oil. Having said that, I've been trying to find ways to reduce the amount of olive oil traditionally used to soften up the eggplant, and make a couple of other changes. My made up version of Moussaka has layers of eggplant with a tomato-based meat mixture, a layer of spinach, and a yoghurt/cheese topping. I must admit, I made this while I still had an impaired sense of smell, but the ingredients seemed to make sense, and I'll report Doug's opinion on this. He's actually quite a tough critic as he really doesn't like eggplant (Why?!!), so if I can win him over I think this recipe is a keeper :)
Aah, one last thing, measurements are not exact, I just made it up and flung it all together in the first baking receptacle that came to hand.....I don't think it is too difficult. I followed some of the cooking instructions in "The Olive and the Caper" by Susanna Hoffman. Btw, sorry about the hopeless photos, the light is rather poor in the kitchen and I don't do the best job.

Meat and eggplant layer

350g beef (lamb would be better!)

2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Passata (or some form of tomatoes)
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp all spice
1-2 tsp dried origano
salt / pepper
(fresh parsely or other herbs stirred in at the end would be nice)

1/4 cup olive oil
4 small to medium eggplants

Spinach layer
300 - 400g spinach leaves
handful of pinenuts
3 tbls ricotta
10 kalamata olives

Yoghurt topping
About 2 cups of yoghurt
50g feta cheese
3 tbls ricotta
1 egg

1. Drain the yoghurt for about an hour if it is very thin. I use a clean cotton hankerchief and sieve over a bowl.
   
2. Preheat oven to 230C (450F). I find these oven temperatures a little hot, but i think my oven runs hot, so I usually turn it down a little.
   
3. Slice the eggplants lengthways about 1/4 inch thick. Smear lightly with olive oil (I use my hands) and place on baking trays with baking paper (not so messy). Bake for 10 minutes, turn, bake for another 10 minutes until wilted and slightly golden. Set aside to cool and turn oven down to 170C (350F).
   
4. Brown the meat and set aside. Next, add soem olive oil to the pan and gently fry the onions until golden and soft (halfway through add the garlic). Add the rest of the 'meat layer' ingredients. Cook for 20 minutes (or up to an hour). I like my mixture to be rather sloppy so th eflavour bubbles through the eggplant, but you can cook it until quite dry if you prefer. Set aside to cool slightly.
5. Wilt the spinach in a large frying pan. It depends on the spinach, but I find I then need to squeeze out a lot of water afterwards. Pit the olives.
   
6. For the topping, combine the yoghurty, crumble the cheese into it, ricotta, and egg. Mix well.
7. Assemble. I start with a layer of eggplant, then the meat, then mor eggplant. I like the flavour to percolate through the eggplant. then the spinach, pinenuts (you cantaost them boeforehand if you like), olives and the 3 tablespoons of ricotta dabbed on the spinach.
8. Final layer of eggplant, then pour the topping on.
9. Bake for 1 hour. The top should look a little bubbly and go a golden colour with darker brown spots.

Doug loved it! It may be that he is just being very diplomatic and doesn't want to upset the cook, but I think he was sincere. The normal recipe would use 1 cup olive oil. I found 1/4 cup sufficient....the eggplant is soft and velvety and there is enough 'richness' in the dish with the meat, topping and ricotta, I think. You could possibly add more feta to the topping, or even better, use kefalotyri cheese.
Anyway, This is a flexible sort of recipe, the main thing is the eggplant, and I think cooking it in the oven really beats standing over a hot stove frying!