Mini Mousakka – Georgine Leung

I first had a Mousakka shortly I started working in London at Valentino’s an Italian-run lunch cornershop in Holborn and subsequently had many of them at places such as the Lebanese restaurant chain Maroush. The layered aubergines, occasionally with potatoes, topped with a ragu-style minced lamb and a Béchamel sauce provide instant satisfaction whenever one fancies a hot lunch. Fast forward many years, I have since made the dish at home numerous times. The best thing about this adapted recipe of mine is, you can always make this in advance of a dinner party – all is left on the day would be the sauce and into the oven it goes an hour before serving, delicious with a Greek salad and rice all year round.

The following is a mini Mousakka I made last Friday, which took around 15 minutes to make and 30 minutes to cook. You could make larger portions and freeze for use at a later date too.

Use:

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 onion
200g mince lamb/beef
1/2 carrot or celery stick, chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp fish sauce (in my opinion best with any tomato-based dish, but 1/2 stock cube will suffice)
300ml water
1/2 aubergine
spray oil
25g spread
30g flour
200ml semi-skimmed milk
1/2 tsp nutmeg
50g cheese (I have tried all kinds but Parmesan would give you the nutty flavour)

Make:

Pre-heat oven to 180C. Heat half the oil in a pan. Brown the onion and add the mince. Cook for 2 minutes and add the vegetables. Stir for a couple of minutes, then add the oregano and tomato puree, seasoning and water. Cook for another 5 minutes. Slice the aubergines and spray oil on a baking tray to grill until griddle marks appear. To cook the sauce, warm the spread in a saucepan and add the flour, mix well. Stir in the milk to thicken, then add the nutmeg and cheese. In a baking dish, layer the aubergine slices and mince meat alternately. Pour over the white sauce and bake for 30 minutes.

Serve:

For two adults.

Nutrition: