A couple summers ago we went to Greece and I (Max) tried moussaka, and I really didn’t take to  it. But my dad  really likes it and bought the ingredients so I decided to humor him and make it.  I looked at a couple recipes and I realized why I probably didn’t like it…it had cinnamon in the topping! For me cinnamon is pretty much a dessert spice (like with apple pie…) so it doesn’t work for me in a savory dish. Consequently I didn’t use the cinnamon when I made it, and both my dad and me loved the result.  Even mom liked it, and she doesn’t like egg plant!

First, I  sliced 2 eggplants, salted them, drizzled them with olive oil and put in the oven to roast for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile I chopped an onion and sauteed it with a pound of ground lamb (you can use ground beef but lamb is better.) When the lamb was cooked through, I added a can of chopped tomatoes. (you can also use plain tomato sauce)

While the eggplant cooked, I made a white sauce for the top. The white sauce is basically butter, flour and milk:  then when its nice and thick, you add grated parmesan.

When the eggplant was soft and brown, the lamb was cooked, and the white sauce was done, I layered it all together: first the eggplant, then the lamb/tomato sauce and finally the white sauce .. with a little more parmesan grated on top.

I let it cook for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.

DELICIOUS!! And no cinnamon.