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Title: Aegean Casserole Categories: Beef, Lhj, Casseroles Yield: 8 Servings **White Sauce** 4 c Milk 1/4 c Butter or margarine 2/3 c All-purpose flour 1/2 Bay leaf 1 ts Salt 1/3 c Freshly grated Parmesan -cheese REST: : 6 c Eggplant; finely diced 2 ts Salt; divided 1 tb Olive oil; (plus one 1 tsp -more) 1 c Onions; finely chopped 2 ts Minced garlic 1/2 ts Cinnamon 1 pn Ground red pepper 1 lb Lean ground beef 1/2 ts Dried mint flakes 1/2 ts Freshly ground pepper 1/4 c Tomato paste 1 cn (28-oz) tomatoes 1/3 c Fresh flat-leaf parsley; -chopped 1 pk (16-oz) ziti pasta; cook -according to pk 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 medium-high heat. Add eggplant and cook, stirring, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. 3. Heat oven to 375 degrees. 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 and 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 5-quart casserole. Spoon on filling, then remaining ziti and White Sauce. Bake uncovered 25 to 35 minutes, until bubbly and browned. Per serving: 339 Calories; 22g Fat (58% calories from fat); 16g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 74mg Cholesterol; 1039mg Sodium NOTES : We combined the flavors of our favorite Greek specialties-moussaka and pastitsio--to create a new classic. Recipe by: LHJ Posted to MC-Recipe Digest by Lisa Minor 1998 |