Aubergine Cuisine

I am a huge fan of aubergines/eggplants. Roasted and mashed with tahini and garlic, it makes a killer baba ghanouj. Seasoned with Indian spices and deep-fried in ghee, it becomes a delicious eggplant sabji/sabzi/subji/subzi. However, I think the tomato is eggplant's soulmate. Moussaka exemplifies this perfect pairing. I recently made this dish for a pot-luck (which I sadly couldn't attend because of a cold).

I had always thought of moussaka as a Greek dish, having grown up in the company of staunch Greeks like Georgia, my enduring friend since the second grade. (Georgia is also responsible for acclimating me to heavy doses of garlic -- if a recipe calls for one clove, I'll use four -- and making me exceptionally picky about those staples of Greek cuisine, souvlaki, tzatziki and olive oil.) Wikipedia tells me otherwise: musaqqaʿa is an Arabic word that refers to a cooked and cooled salad consisting of eggplant and tomato. Bulgarian, Bosnian, Serbian, Romanian, Turkish and other cuisines have similar versions of moussaka. Clearly, other cultures also agreed that eggplant and tomato was a good match.

The Greek variety is basically composed of three layers: a bottom layer made of eggplant slices, a middle layer made with ground meat (usually lamb; I used beef here), tomatoes, onions and garlic, and a top layer that is essentially a béchamel sauce (sometimes topped or mixed with grated cheese). The casserole is baked until the top becomes golden brown. It's hearty and healthy.