Recipe - Aegean Casserole From Lhj

WHITE SAUCE
4 cup Milk
One fourth cup Butter or margarine
2/3 cup Allpurpose flour
One half Bay leaf
1 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Grated Parmesan cheese

CASSEROLE
6 cup Eggplant; finely minced
2 teaspoon Salt; divided
1 tablespoon Olive oil; plus 1 teaspoon
1 cup Finely chopped onion
2 teaspoon Minced garlic
One half teaspoon Cinnamon
1 pn Ground red pepper
1 pound Lean ground beef
One half teaspoon Dried mint flakes
One half teaspoon Freshly ground pepper
One fourth cup Tomato paste
28 ounce Tomatoes; canned
1/3 cup Chopped fresh flatleaf
parsley
16 ounce Ziti pasta; cooked as
directed

1. Make White Sauce: Bring milk to boil in medium saucepan over high heat.
Melt butter in large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook,
whisking, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, bay leaf and salt; bring to
boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring, 10 minutes. Remove from
heat. Discard bay leaf and stir in Parmesan.

2. Toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon salt; drain in colander 30 minutes. Pat
dry. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over mediumhigh heat. Add
eggplant and cook, stirring, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Heat oven to 375°F. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to skillet. Add onions
and cook until tender, 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, cinnamon and red pepper;
cook 15 seconds. Add meat, mint, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper;
cook, stirring, until meat is no longer pink. Add tomato paste and
tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes with spoon. Add eggplant and bring to
simmer; simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.

4. Transfer cooked ziti to large bowl and stir in 1 cup White Sauce. Spread
half the ziti in bottom of deep 5quart casserole. Spoon on filling, then
remaining ziti and White Sauce. Bake uncovered 25 to 35 minutes, until
bubbly and browned.

Prep Time: 1 hour Baking Time: 25 to 35 minutes Degree of Difficulty:
Moderate (C) Copyright 1997, Meredith Corporation, All Rights Reserved.

NOTES : We combined the flavors of our favorite Greek specialtiesmoussaka
and pastitsioto create a new classic.

Recipe by: Ladies Home Journal

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #942 by "abprice@wf.net" abprice@wf.net on
Dec 2, 1997