Going Greek: Pastitsio.

I've been cooking a lot of Greek, and Pastitsio is yummy.

Ingredients:

Meat Sauce:
        • 1.5 pounds of ground beef
        • 2 onion (diced)
        • 1 clove of garlic (minced)
        • 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
        • 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
        • salt
        • pepper
        • 28 oz. of diced tomatoes
        • 6 oz. of tomato paste
        • 1/8 cup of dried oregano

Bechamel Sauce:
        • 1 stick of butter
        • 1 cup of all purpose flour
        • 3 cups of milk (warmed)
        • 3 eggs
        • 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
        • 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (grated)

        • 1 pound of tubed pasta

Instructions:
1. Saute the ground beef, medium heat until brown. Remove beef from pan.

2. Add the garlic and onions, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to the empty pan, saute until the onions are translucent.

3. Return the beef to the pan, add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste, and oregano. Reduce heat and simmer.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and cook one pound of your favorite tubed pasta.

5. Now we begin making the Bechamel. Melt butter in a saucepan, whisk in the flour until the roux is smooth.

6. Add warm milk to the mixture in a steady stream, whisking. Simmer until the mixture thickens (but do not let it boil).

7. Beat the eggs and add it to the Bechamel mixture. Add the 1/4 tsp of nutmeg.

8. Now we begin assembly. Apply olive oil to a 9 by 5 pan. Pour half of the cooked pasta into the pan, spread it evenly.

9. Pour all the meat sauce on top of the pasta, then add the remaining half of the cooked pasta on top of the meat sauce layer.

10. Pour the Bechamel mixture to cover the pasta. Sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese on top of the Bechamel mixture. Bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until the top is golden.

Making Eggplants Tolerable: Moussaka.

I don't like eggplants. They're mushy and have negligible amounts of beneficial nutrients. Unfortunately, they're silly easy to grow, and therefore common enough to end up in our farm-share basket.

The SU and I scratched our heads and wondered...

What will we do with you?

Then the SU thought of Greek Moussaka, where the Greeks demonstrate their culinary sense by cooking the !@#& out of eggplants so you can't taste it and it is covered by the awesomeness of onions, ground beef, and the tomato.

So we flipped open our copy of The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook, and this is our adaption of the federal convict's recipe.

Ingredients:
        • eggplant
        • 1.5 pounds of ground beef
        • 1 onion (diced)
        • 1 clove of garlic (minced)
        • 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
        • 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
        • salt
        • pepper
        • 28 oz. of diced tomatoes
        • 6 oz. of tomato paste
        • 1/8 cup of dried oregano
        • 2 eggs
        • 2 cups of Greek yogurt
        • 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (grated)



Instructions:

1. Slice the eggplant, salt liberally to dehydrate Satan's vegetable and set it on paper towels.

2. Saute the ground beef, medium heat until brown. Remove beef from pan.

3. Add the garlic and onions, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to the empty pan, saute until the onions are translucent.

4. Return the beef to the pan, add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste, and oregano. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour.

5. Preheat your oven to 400°F, then return your attention to the eggplant slices. Rinse the salt off, dry the vegetable, and in another frying/saute pan with olive oil, fry the slices at medium heat until they're brown.

6. Now we begin layering. Grab a 9 by 13 baking pan, begin by placing a single layer of eggplant, then empty half of the meat/tomato/onion mixture on top of it. Then add another layer of eggplant, and unload the other half of the meat/tomato/onion mixture.

7. Mix the yogurt, eggs, and cheese together. Pour it on top of the material already in the pan.

8. Introduce the pan into the oven, and bake until the yogurt is bubbling and beginning to brown. Estimated cooking time is around 30~40 minutes.

9. Remove from oven, let the Moussaka rest for 10 minutes. Enjoy!