Roasted Eggplant Pastitsio
This is one of my favorite fall and winter casseroles. It'll use up all your bowls, pots, and pans, so be ready for it--but you can also break this into steps and make the meat sauce a day ahead. I often double this and freeze one pan. It's my standard family-had-a-new-baby dish to bring to a friend, too.
Servings per recipe: 12
Calories per serving: 330
Preparation time: 25m
Total cooking time: 2h 20m
Ingredients:
- Meat Sauce:
- 1 large eggplant, halved lengthwise
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
- White Sauce:
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 clove garlic, lightly crushed
- 1 (8 ounce) package crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- cooking spray
- 1 (12 ounce) package penne pasta
Directions:
- 1 Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil; place eggplant halves on top.
- 2 Broil eggplant, checking fairly often and rotating the baking sheet as needed, until the skin blackens and starts to char in places, about 15 minutes. Cool until easily handled, about 5 minutes. Peel off skin and coarsely chop flesh.
- 3 Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions; cook and stir over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add lamb and cook, breaking it up into small pieces, until no pink remains, about 5 minutes. Drain grease from the skillet.
- 4 Stir minced garlic, salt, cumin, oregano, pepper, and cinnamon into the skillet; cook for 1 minute. Stir in chopped eggplant, diced tomatoes, and crushed tomatoes. Bring sauce to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chopped mint.
- 5 Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Pour in milk and whisk until smooth. Add crushed garlic clove, increase heat to high, and bring milk to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat; discard garlic clove.
- 6 Whisk eggs in a large heatproof bowl. Pour hot milk mixture in a steady stream into beaten eggs, whisking constantly. Stir in feta cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- 7 Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- 8 Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain.
- 9 Divide pasta between the white sauce and the lamb sauce and mix to combine. Pour the pasta with lamb sauce into the prepared baking dish; spread the pasta with white sauce on top.
- 10 Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden and pastitsio is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrion facts:
Total Fat | 14.7g | 23% |
Saturated Fat | 7.0g | |
Cholesterol | 78mg | 26% |
Sodium | 747mg | 30% |
Potassium | 533mg | 15% |
Total Carbohydrates | 33.5g | 11% |
Dietary Fiber | 4.3g | 17% |
Protein | 17g | 34% |
Sugars | 7g | |
Vitamin A | 785IU | |
Vitamin C | 9mg | |
Calcium | 195mg | |
Iron | 3mg | |
Thiamin | 0mg | |
Niacin | 6mg | |
Vitamin B6 | 0mg | |
Magnesium | 47mg | |
Folate | 40mcg |