Here is a nice spring recipe for a weekend night using seasonal ingredients and that still has a substantial feel to it as well as a nod to the hotter climbs to come!
The best-known version in Europe and the Americas is the Greek variant created in the 1920’s. Many versions have a top layer made of milk-based sauce thickened with egg (custard) or flour. In Greece, the dish is layered and typically served hot.
Most versions are based primarily on sautéed aubergine and tomato, usually with minced meat, mostly lamb. The Greek version includes layers of meat and eggplant topped with a Béchamel sauce, and baked.
The modern Greek version was created by the French-trained Greek chef Nikolaos Tselementes in the 1920s. recipe has three layers that are separately cooked before being combined for the final baking: a bottom layer of sliced eggplant sautéed in olive oil; a middle layer of ground lamb lightly cooked with chopped or puréed tomatoes, onion, garlic, and spices (cinnamon, allspice and black pepper); and a top layer of Béchamel sauce or savory custard.
Here it is served with a little tomato and red onion salad and some pesto roasted potatoes.
