Moussaka with Mornay sauce
To minimize breaking the layers, give the moussaka time to rest before cutting and serving. Depending on the room temperature, this can be anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. Don't worry if it's no longer piping hot when it lands on your plate. This is a dish that can be served hot or cold.
Ingredients
Ragu
- 500 grams ground lamb or beef
- 1 onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 6 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 2 stalks oregano leaves only
- salt
- pepper
- 1 390-gram can whole peeled tomatoes
- sugar
- 2 bay leaves
Sauce and eggplants
- 2 large eggplants cut into half-inch slices
- olive oil
- 2 ½ cups Mornay sauce at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar
Instructions
Cook the ragu
- Spread the ground lamb in a heated pan and leave to brown a little and render fat.
- Spread the onion slices, garlic, oregano, a teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of pepper on the meat.
- Cook, stirring often, until the meat is nicely browned.
- Pour in the tomatoes, sprinkle in two pinches of sugar and another teaspoon of salt, and throw in the bay leaves.
- Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer until thick and almost dry.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed.
Roast the eggplants
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer.
- Drizzle olive oil over the eggplants. Flip and drizzle more oil on the opposite sides.
- Roast the eggplant slices for 15 to 20 minutes or just until softened but still partially cooked.
- Lower the oven temperature to 350F.
Assemble the moussaka
- Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of your baking pan.
- Cover the bottom of the pan with eggplant slices.
- Spread half of the ragu over the eggplants.
- Cover with half of the Mornay sauce followed by half of the shredded cheddar.
- Repeat the layers.
- Bake the moussaka at 350F for 20 to 30 minutes or until bubbly.
- Rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.