Ingredients:
3 big eggplants
4 big potatoes
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
2 large onions, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup oregano
1 tbsp. red pepper
1 cup tomato purees (or crushed tomatoes)
2 tbsp. tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup grated feta cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
Béchamel Sauce:
1 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 cups milk
6 eggs beaten
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Preparation
Slice the eggplants in to ½ inch slices, salt them and place
them in a colander for 20 minutes so they can lose their
moisture and bitterness.
Peel the potatoes and slice them in to ½ inch slices too,
brush the potatoes with olive oil, salt and red pepper and
place in a baking pan that you smear with butter
and bake at 200 degrees Celsius until tender.
Dry the eggplant with paper towels and fry in olive oil until tender.
Then place them on paper towels to drain the excess oil.
In a deep skillet, sauté onion and garlic for a minute
and add the minced meat continuing the stir fry cooking
until almost cooked. Add salt, pepper, oregano and red wine
and continue to stir fry cooking until wine evaporates.
Add tomato paste and crushed tomatoes and continue for
10 minutes until the sauce thickens.
The Béchamel Sauce:
Melt butter over low heat. Using a whisk, add flour to melted butter
whisking continuously to make a smooth paste. Allow the flour to
cook for a minute but do not allow it to brown. Add warmed milk
to mixture in a steady stream, whisking continuously.
Simmer over low heat until it thickens a bit but does not boil.
Remove from heat, and stir in beaten eggs and pinch of nutmeg.
Return to heat and stir until sauce thickens.
Lightly grease a large deep baking pan.
Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom and then a layer of eggplants.
Add meat sauce on top of the eggplant layer and sprinkle
the grated feta cheese. Top with another layer of eggplant slices.
Pour the béchamel sauce over the eggplant and be sure to allow
sauce to fill the sides and corners of the pan.
Smooth the béchamel on top with a spatula and sprinkle
with grated parmesan cheese. Bake in a 350-degree oven
for 45 minutes or until béchamel sauce is a nice golden brown color.
Allow to cool for 15 – 20 minutes before slicing and serving.