Lamb and Potato Moussaka

Moussaka is usually made with eggplant, sometimes with potatoes; we didn't have eggplants so we went with this potato-only version from The Spruce Eats. It turned out really well: rich, tasty, a little exotic, but ultimately a comfort food. We're adapting it slightly here, all proportions are approximate -- it's not a fussy dish. We used lamb, but you could use beef. This dish serves four and fit snugly in a small lasagna pan, 11x7x1.5 inches, 1 quart/liter. 

I stuck the end bits of the potato in the top just for fun

We had some extra stock, and we didn't want to fry the potatoes, so we took the unusual step of cooking the potatoes in stock topped up with a bit of wine. We then reused the liquid to make a flavored béchamel. Totally unconventional, but tasty. You can just simmer the potatoes in water, and make a plain béchamel with milk, of course. 

We normally write recipes in metric but we were not at home and had no scale for this one.

1 1/2 pound   medium Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 5)

    2 C       Chicken Stock (or Water)

Meat Sauce:

    1 pound   Ground Lamb

    1 large   Onion, chopped

    3 clove   Garlic, minced

    2 medium  Tomatoes, chopped

  1/4 C       Breadcrumbs, toasted

    1 inch    Cinnamon stick

    2 whole   Bay Leaves

  1/8 tsp     Allspice, ground

  1/8 tsp     Cloves, ground

  1/2 tsp     Kosher Salt

  1/2 tsp     Black Pepper

  1/4 C       Dry White Wine

    1 Tbs     Tomato Paste

    1 bunch   Thyme leaves

Béchamel:

    4 Tbs     Butter (half stick)

  1/4 C       Flour

    2 C       Chicken Stock reserved from cooking Potatoes (or additional 1 C Milk)

    1 C       Milk

  1/2 tsp     Kosher Salt

  1/4 tsp     White Pepper, ground

  1/8 tsp     Nutmeg, ground

    1 Egg     Yolk, beaten

Butter

  1/4 C       Breadcrumbs, toasted

  1/4 C       Feta Cheese, crumbled

Slice the Potatoes into 1/8 inch (2 mm) slices and boil until cooked and flexible but not falling apart. We used Chicken Stock and a bit of White Wine instead of Water, just because we had it. Drain and reserve the stock (if using).

Brown the Lamb, and remove meat to plate, leaving fat in the pan.

Cook the Onions until barely soft, then add Garlic and cook a few minutes more.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook to merge flavors.

Continue cooking to reduce moisture, until you have a dry meat sauce.

If you used Stock or Stock and Wine, reduce the reserved liquid to a cup.

Melt the Butter and cook the Flour a bit.

Add the Milk and reduced Stock, and continue to cook and stir until you get a smooth thick white sauce.

Remove from heat and stir in Egg Yolk.

Film the lasagne pan with butter to lubricate it a bit.

Layer the half of the cooked Potatoes like shingles, slightly overlapping, to cover the bottom of the pan.

Add half the meat sauce then smooth gently.

Add half the Béchamel and smooth.

Add another layer of shingled potatoes, meat sauce, and Béchamel.

Top with Bread Crumbs and Feta.

Bake about an hour until everything's cooked through and a fork or knife can pierce the potatoes fairly easily.

Let cool 20 minutes to let it set.

Cut and serve.