Ingredients
- 3 eggplant, sliced 1cm thick
- sea salt flakes and freshly-ground black pepper
- cooking oil spray
- 2 brown onions, very finely diced
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 750g lamb mince
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp dried Greek oregano
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 bunch parsley, very finely chopped
- 125g unsalted butter
- 3 Tbsp plain flour
- 650ml hot milk
- 1½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ cup grated Pecorino
- ½ cup grated smoked cheese
- 4 egg yolks
Instructions
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves: 12
1 Preheat oven to 220°C. Season the eggplant with a generous amount of salt. Stand for 30 minutes, then rinse well and pat dry. Arrange on a lined oven tray and bake for 20 minutes. Set aside.
2 Sauté the onions and garlic in half the oil for 5 minutes, until just softened. Add the lamb mince and cook until browned. Mix in the tomato paste, tomatoes, oregano, cinnamon and sugar, then season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 1 hour, until thickened, mix in the parsley.
3 Put the butter and flour in a large pan over a moderate heat and cook for 3 minutes, until crumbly. Whisk in the milk and simmer until thickened, then fold in the nutmeg, half the cheeses and egg yolks. Season with salt and pepper.
4 Put the eggplant in the bottom of a baking dish, then top with lamb mixture and white sauce. Finish with the remaining cheese. Reduce oven to 170°C and bake for 40 minutes, until golden on top.