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. It does take some time as there are several steps. We used lamb, but you could use beef or a mix. This dish serves four and fit snugly in a small lasagna pan, 11x7x1.5 inches, 1 quart/liter, or two loaf pans. 

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We originally made this while away from home where we had no scale, but now we've converted it to metric.

You can swap half of the Potatoes for an equal amount of Eggplant.

Potatoes (and Eggplant):
700 g     1 1/2 pound  Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 5 medium)
500 ml        2 C      Chicken Stock (or Water)

Meat Sauce:

500 g         1 pound  Ground Lamb

  1 large              Onion, chopped

  3 clove              Garlic, minced

  2 medium             Tomatoes, chopped

2.5 cm        1 inch   Cinnamon stick

  2 whole              Bay Leaves

  1 g       1/8 tsp    Allspice (5 pimienta de olor), ground

  3 whole   1/8 tsp    Cloves, ground

  2 g       1/2 tsp    Salt

  1 g       1/2 tsp    Black Pepper

 70 ml      1/4 C      Dry White Wine

 20 g         1 Tbs    Tomato Paste

    1 bunch            Thyme leaves

Béchamel (typically: 1:1 fat:flour, 5:1 milk:flour)

 60 g         4 Tbs    Butter (half stick)

 60 g       1/4 C      Flour

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

250 ml        1 C      Milk

  2 g       1/2 tsp    Kosher Salt

  1 g       1/4 tsp    White Pepper, ground

0.5 g       1/8 tsp    Nutmeg, ground

  1 Egg                Yolk, beaten

Assembly, Topping:
 as needed             Butter

 15 g       1/4 C      Breadcrumbs, toasted

 40 g       1/4 C      Feta Cheese, crumbled

Slice the Potatoes into 2 mm (1/8 inch) 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). If you're using Eggplant, slice a bit thicker: I cooked them briefly in the Stock this time but think that was unnecessary. 

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

Cook the Onions (add some Oil if needed) until barely soft, then add Garlic and cook a few minutes more.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook to merge flavors.

Add the reserved browned Meat.

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 300 ml (1 C).

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 at 180C (350F) 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.

2024-09-04 With Eggplant

I didn't have Lamb, so I made this with a 50/50 Beef/Pork mix. I used about half Potato and half Eggplant. I cooked each separately in a mixed stock I had on hand, but the Eggplant got too soft. 

Next time: 

Consider searing them sans oil in a cast iron skillet, as several Serious Eats comments suggested. 

The Feta we used didn't melt well, consider mixing into the hot Béchamel instead.