3 medium eggplants, peel and slice into 2/3" salt and drain
1/2 cup flour with dash of black pepper
6 Tbsp Butter
6 Tbsp flour
3 cups milk
3 eggs (well beaten)
dash of ground nutmeg
dash Tabasco Sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lb ground lamb (lean ground beef or ground turkey work very well in this recipe)
1 large chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup diced stewed tomatoes (or chopped fresh very ripe tomatoes)
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried leaf oregano
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp chopped mint
dash each of salt and pepper

Additional assembly ingredients:

1 cup coarse dry bread crumbs
2 cups Mozzarella or other white cooking cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese, optional
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
 paprika or red chili powder to garnish

A classic Greek dish, this Moussaka deserves a try.  Read each process before beginning and allow at least one hour of preparation time.  A Moussaka is three parts that need prior preparation: fried eggplant, a white sauce and a tomato meat sauce, and also bread crumbs and cheese.  The red sauce can be prepared well ahead of time, and keeps well refrigerated.  A day ahead, the white sauce can be prepared and refrigerated.

1.  Dry the eggplant slices and shake in a bag with flour and black pepper.
     Brown in frying pan with a bit of hot olive oil. Use only enough to brown
     a few slices at a time.  Eggplant will absorb any amount of oil and you
     do not want it to get greasy.  Drain the eggplant and reserve.

2.  Prepare the white sauce.  Melt butter in a saucepan, whisk for a couple 
     minutes until well blended with the flour over medium heat.  In the 
     saucepan, add the milk and gently bring to a boil.

3.  Whisk and simmer about 3-4 minutes.  Whisk a cup of this mixture
     into the 3 beaten eggs.  Then, whisk the egg mixture back into the
     white sauce and bring up to a gentle simmer, whisking until thick.  Do
     not boil, or sauce will scramble.  Add the nutmeg and a dash of
     tabasco sauce (or a dash of cayenne pepper).  Remove from heat. Let
     white sauce cool.  It should be quite thick.

4.   In heavy frying pan, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and brown the ground meat.
     Drain grease.  Add the chopped onion and garlic. Saute until onion is
     light golden color.  Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and remaining
     herbs and spices.  Simmer and stir until quite thick.  Allow to cook
     until the diced tomatoes are completely cooked down.

5.  To assemble the Moussaka there are three parts. The parts of the
     Moussaka are: Eggplant, Red Meat Sauce, White Sauce

6.  While the meat tomato sauce cooks, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  
     Use a good sized casserole about a  9" x 13" with a cover. Lightly 
     spray with cooking spray.  Put about 1/3 of the eggplant slices in a 
     single layer on the bottom of the casserole pan.  Trim to fit. Spread
     1/2 of the meat mixture on top.  Spread 1/3 of white sauce over meat.
     Sprinkle with 1 cup cheese, 1/3 cup of crumbs.  Repeat this set of
     layers.  Then put in a layer of the rest of the eggplant, the rest of the
     white sauce and cover with the rest of the crumbs.  Garnish top with a
     sprinkle of red chile or paprika and an small handful of chopped
     parsley.

7.  Cover, and bake at 350 degrees for an hour.  Remove and uncover and
     bake or broil on top rack, until browned on top and bubbly.  Allow to set 
     for about 5 minutes before slicing.  Serve with dolmades as an 
     appetizer, then serve this beautiful dish with a Greek salad, good bread 
     and baklava dessert.  Enjoy!