I’m feeling nostalgic today. When I turned 21 all I wanted from my parent’s for my birthday present was the complete collection of Robert Carrier’s Kitchen cooking magazines. There were 120 of them and they came out weekly at the CNA in the 1980’s. The collection took over 2 years to collect. We had aubergines in the fridge along with 2L of milk, which neither of us drink. I remember making Moussaka from my Carrier’s Kitchen collect years before. So I went in search of it. The page had smudges of ingredients over it which made me laugh. I don’t prepare my aubergines like he does (did) as I think my way is more convenient. Feel free to do it anyway you please.

There are 3 parts to the recipe

1. The aubergines

2. The mince

3. The Custard topping.

You know what to do just follow the photos…This is a winner.

If you feel overwhelmed to cook all the steps, why not divy up the tasks to family. Someone is in charge of the aubergines. These can be made the day before and someone else is in charge of the Custard topping which can also be made the day before. Then all you have to do is the mince on the day.

Robert Carriers Kitchen Moussaka

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

500g beef mince original recipe uses 750g lamb mince - use what you have but remember it will change the flavour from the authentic greek version
250g pork mince
850g Aubergines
2 onions
1 Tin tomatoes
5ml oregano
5ml cinnamon
30ml Tomato paste
175ml Red wine
5g flat leaf Parsley
Olive oil - 2 Tbls for onions and about 1/4 cup for aubergine roasting
75g Grated cheddar
850ml Milk
75ml flour
75g butter
2 exl egg
fresh Grated nutmeg about 10 scrapes across the grater

Instructions

Mince part - The recipe calls for lamb mince I only had beef and pork mince so I used about 500g beef and 250g pork mince. My aubergines weight 852g I used all of them. 2 onions, tin tomatoes, 30 ml tomato paste, 5ml each origanum and cinnamon, 175ml red wine, small bunch parsley. Olive oil to fry
Custard topping - 75g grated cheddar, 850ml milk, 75ml flour, 75g butter, I used 2 exl eggs, and fresh grated nutmeg (see that little blob on the grater)
Slice aubergine long ways
Add baking sheet to pan and spread on the surface. This amount of oil is enough for brushing on both sides of aubergine
Salt and pepper
Bake in oven for 20 min at 220°. Or until brown. Watch them to ensure they don't burn. You can use this method to prepare aubergine for a nice salad too.
You'll notice the ones on the edge are browner.
Chop 2 onions
Fry in olive oil until translucent
Add the mince a small handful at a time and brown
Alternate beef and pork mince and continue until all the mince is brown
Add 5ml (tsp) of origanum
Add 1 tsp of cinnamon
Add 1tsp salt
Add chopping parsley
Add 30ml of tomato paste stir and cook until it starts to stick to the pan.
Add the tomatoes and continue to cook until you hear the mince crackling. This stage gives the mince the intense flavor.
After about 5min add the wine to deglaze the pan. Basically making sure the mince unsticks itself from the pan cook on low heat 20 minutes
The Custard topping - melt the butter in a saucepan
Melted not boiling
Add the flour
Stir vigorously
Keep stirring - I'm taking the photos all the way and trying to make sure no lumps form
Add the milk and continue stirring
It will start to thicken
Whisk - make sure no lumps form
Aaahhh this it lovely and smooth. Tip - if lumps form get out your stick blender and blitz
Add seasoning
This is what finely grated nutmeg looks like
Salt about 1 tsps taste to check
Cheese and wisk
At this stage I asked Brian to take the photo. Whisk the egg into the mix to ensure it doesn't turn into scrambled eggs. Don't be scared - just whisk. You can temper the eggs by adding a few Tbls of the milk mix to the eggs and then adding that mix into the milk mix. This stops the eggs from turning into scrambled eggs. If you are quick with the whisk its not really necessary.
And voila you have the smoothest creamy Custard
Assembly time
Layer aubergine on base of dish
Alternate with mince
Finish off with aubergines on top
Pour Custard over. With the rest of the cheese and a fine dusting of grated nutmeg
Bake for 30-40 min at 180°C
I should have lifted the aubergine up to peak through the sauce. I think my casserole dish was a little too small. Enjoy