I write “Village” moussaka, but I mean “cheap & simple”, quite different from the online recipes I see.
mint, salje, rosemary, thyme, fried eggplant, onion, garlic
You need:
olive oil
2 eggplants
minced lamb
generous 1/2 cup of salje (see recipe)
1 onion
garlic- a whole bulb
rosemary in any form
thyme
optional- mint
Slice eggplants into discs, sprinkle with salt, dab with paper towel once they become wet, then fry both sides in generous amount of olive oil. Set aside.
Fry onion & lamb together, then add sliced garlic and salje.
add garlic & salje to lamb & onion
Turn down heat and add rosemary to taste (careful- it can be strong- if you’re using ground rosemary, start with 1/2 teaspoon and taste). Add 2 teaspoons thyme and if desired, a bit of mint. Simmer.
Taste & adjust seasoning. Remember the salje is full of salt and chili, but you may want to add these…
Using an oven dish, layer meat sauce alternating with eggplant slices. The first layer will be meat sauce, the top layer will be eggplant.
layer eggplant & lamb
In Turkey we didn’t have an oven, so the eggplant was stirred into the meat sauce and they simmered together on the stovetop. Delicious and one less dish to clean.
Serve with rice or crusty baguette.
