Moussaka Lasagna Roll Ups

Suzonne invited me over for Moussaka.  I nodded my head yes… fairly certain that she was talking about food, absolutely sure she was a stellar cook, and very clear in the fact if someone was inviting me over for homemade dinner I would be there in a heartbeat.  

Truth be told (and aren’t we truth tellers around here?), I didn’t know what Moussaka was until I walked through the door and smelled a mixture of cinnamon spices and savory meat.  In the kitchen she poured a cheesy bechamel sauce over a mixture of cut pasta combined with a tomato, ground lamb and spice. That’s when I did two things:  I immediately googled Moussaka (spelling it incorrectly, naturally), and called the movers to start packing up my belongings because I decided I was moving in with Suzonne and her family if this was dinner here. 

Moussaka is an eggplant, potato, and ground meat dish.  It’s spiced with enough cinnamon and allspice to smell and taste, and sometimes studded with dried fruit.  There are loads of different variations throughout  Greece and Turkey and Egypt.  Some layered, some not so layered, some served warm, some cold.  

This version replaces potatoes with pasta and is topped with chunky tomatoes and a creamy bechamel.  

The Guardian shows us how to make perfect moussaka, giving you knowledge and know-how and Food52 has a Versatile Moussaka for our everyday dinner life.  

These rolls are deliciously clever, fun to make, and I found myself enjoying them all week long.  

Get your goods.  

Here’s what you’ll need:  

•  Ground lamb.  Now, I’m not much of a let’s-eat-lamb kind of person, but for me, lamb is critical of this dish.  I’ve seen other recipes use ground beef.  Do what you will.  You know what you like. 

•  Onions and garlic.  Classics.

•  Eggplant.  We won’t need a ton, just a few decent slices to make about 2 cups of cubed eggplant.  (I roasted the rest of the eggplant for breakfast the next morning with eggs.  

•  Spices!  Ground cinnamon and allspice, a few pinches of clove, and freshly grated nutmeg are essential.  You want the aroma and taste… not too much but distinctly present. 

• Diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.  Tomatoes every which way. 

•  Lasagna noodles!  Oh! You know what I’ve seen on the internet? Some people make thin strips of eggplant and roll the ground lamb mixture in eggplant instead of lasagna noodles.  

•  Fresh parsley, salt + pepper. 

We’re good.  You ready? 

We’ll start by salting our eggplant. 

Salting sliced eggplant is a cheeky way to draw some of the moisture out of the eggplant before it is diced and sautéed.  It helps the eggplant break down and caramelize faster.  

I generously sprinkled kosher salt over both sides of the eggplant and let it sit for 20 minutes.  

While the eggplant rests with its salt, I brown the lamb is olive oil then add chopped onions and garlic.  

The mixture is sautéed to browned and softened.  

While the onions do their good work, we’ll use a paper towel to wipe the salt from the eggplant and soak up the water.  

The eggplant is diced into 1/2-inch cubes and added to the simmering lamb and onion mixture. 

This is getting good! 

Ground cinnamon.  Ground allspice.  Fresh nutmeg.  All into the eggplanty meat.  

Salt and pepper and oregano too!  

By now, things smell exactly fantastic! 

We’ll add a few tablespoons of tomato paste.  Add some layers of intense tomato flavor to our base. 

Red wine will deglaze the pan, pulling up any browned and caramelized bits from the bottom and into the mix. 

Add a cup of the diced tomatoes and a few good spoonfuls of the tomato sauce to the beef mixture.  

Toss it all together over heat.  Add salt and pepper and taste.  Season it up more until you feel cozy inside.  

We’ll combine the remaining diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and season it up with oregano, salt and pepper.  

Half of the tomato mixture we’ll use to coat the bottom of the pan, giving the roll ups something flavorful to rest in.  

The lasagna sheets are boiled in a big ol pot to al dente.   Soft, rollable, with just a little bite. 

A thin layer of lamb moussaka filling is spread across the lasagna noodle.  

See?  You picking up what I’m putting down? 

They’re called roll ups.  

We’ll roll em up! 

Seam side down with all the roll ups nestled and cozy inside the baking dish.  I used two round baking dishes for this batch of roll ups but one batch will fit nicely into a 9×13-inch baking dish.

We’ll top the little parcels with the remaining tomato sauce. 

Did you just hear the angels sing? I did. I swear I did.

To the tomato topped pasta packages we’ll add a Parmesan cheese bechamel sauce.  It’s a thickened cream sauce with salty cheese added.  Creamy, salty, smooth, 100% irresistible.  

Like a creamy, cheesy, avalanche, with a hearty sprinkling of more cheese.  

Baked to bubbling and browned. 

All the insides are well cooked so we just want to meld all of the flavors.  

Profoundly comforting Winter dining.  

If this is outside of your box, like it was mine, join me in expanding.  It really is a delicious endeavor.  

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