Mezedes

Mezedes. Mezz or Meze. It's a Greek snack. It's not exactly an appetizer, but it can be. It can be satisfying all by itself.

The simplest meze is bread and extra virgin olive oil - Greek olive oil of course. There is Italian, Tunisian and olive oil from other countries. The olive trees they come from were planted by the Greeks. Alexander the Great carried bags of olive pits on his campaigns. He planted them all over the Mediterranean and North Africa.

Meze can be almost anything to snack on by Greek men and women at the local taverna. Fried haloumi cheese. Little fish in olive oil and vinegar. Meatballs - tsoutsoukakia. Fried calamari and cold, marinated octopus.

Here we have fresh tomato, feta, Kalamata olives, English muffin pieces, good olive oil, lemon juice, fresh oregano, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Moussaka

The Lonely Guy Cooks Greek

I got the idea for this recipe from a colleague who is slightly allergic to eggplant. His wife would substitute thin slices of potato for the eggplant.

The cheese sauce which tops this dish is a little time-consuming to prepare, but it has lots of flavor and binds the dish together.

This recipe will make a 7" X 10" or 9" X 9" tray of moussaka. I used a 7" X 10" Pyrex tray. This recipe makes about six servings. Freeze half.

Greeks love their lamb, but you can make this with beef. I compromised with a 50-50 mixture of beef and lamb.

1 large eggplant, peeled
1 large baking potato, peeled
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground lamb
2 medium white onions, chopped
8 ounce can tomato sauce
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Olive oil as needed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Set oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees Celsius)

Cheese Sauce

3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup light cream or half-and-half
1 large egg
1/2 cup pecorino Romano cheese
1 pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Slice the eggplant 1/4-inch thick. Slice the potato 1/8-inch thick.

Brush a cookie sheet with olive oil.

Coat each side of sliced eggplant and potato with olive oil then season slices with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Place the slices on cookie sheet as will fit. Broil under the broiler until brown, turn and broil the other side. If slices are left over, broil another batch.

Oil the baking dish. Place eggplant and potato slices on the bottom.

In a large skillet, combine beef and onions and cook, stirring, until the beef is no longer pink. Drain the fat.

Add in the garlic, tomato sauce, cinnamon, oregano, salt and black pepper to taste.

Pour the meat mixture over the eggplant slices.

Arrange the remaining eggplant and potato slices over the beef mixture.

Make the Cheese Sauce

Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan, whisk in flour and cook until mixture is just starting to get golden. Don't stop whisking.

Gradually stir in the cream. Keep stirring until thick and starting to bubble. Reduce the heat to low.

In a small bowl, beat the egg,  stir in two or three tablespoons of the cheese sauce (but not so much that it cooks the egg), then add egg mixture to sauce mixture. Stir well.

Stir in the Romano cheese. Stir well.

Pour the cheese sauce over the mixture in the baking dish.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or golden brown on top.

Let stand and congeal for 30 minutes or so. Cut into squares.

If freezing any extra servings, wrap them in plastic wrap and place in a large resealable bag or container. Keep in the refrigerator until cool and then place in the freezer.