What she’d tell you
Cinnamon in a meat sauce is what makes this Greek rather than Italian, and it is a small amount doing an enormous amount of work. Salt the aubergine first, as always.
What you need
Written for 6. Change that in the app and the amounts follow.
Tick things off as you get them ready.
Continue to the method ↓
How it goes
Slice the aubergines into 1 cm rounds, salt them and leave 30 minutes. Pat dry, brush with oil and roast at 200°C for 25 minutes.
Slice the potatoes thinly and parboil them 6 minutes.
Brown the lamb hard, then add the onion and garlic for 8 minutes, then the cinnamon, oregano, wine and tomatoes. Simmer 20 minutes until thick.
Make the béchamel: melt the butter, stir in the flour, cook a minute, then add the milk gradually, whisking. Cook until thick, then take off the heat and add the nutmeg and half the parmesan.
Layer: potato, meat, aubergine, then the béchamel over the top with the rest of the parmesan.
Bake at 180°C for 45 minutes until deeply golden, then rest 20 minutes.
If you haven’t got it
Ground Lamb
ground beef, which is common and a good deal cheaper
Aubergine
courgette, sliced and roasted the same way
Keeping it
Four days in the fridge and genuinely better on day two.
180°C for 25 minutes. Freezes for three months.
