1351—Moussaka

(1) Cut six fine egg-plants into halves, lengthwise; cisel the pulp somewhat deeply with the point of a small knife, and fry them until their pulp may be easily removed. Do this with a spoon, and put the pulp aside with the skins of the egg-plants.

(2) Peel two fair-sized egg-plants; cut them into roundels one-third in. thick; season them, dredge them; fry them in oil, and put them aside.

(3) Chop up the pulp withdrawn from the egg-plants, and put it into a basin with one and one-half lbs. of very lean, cooked mutton, chopped or cut into very small dice; two tablespoonfuls of very finely-chopped onion, fried in butter; a pinch of parsley; a piece of crushed garlic as large as a pea; three oz. of roughly-chopped raw mushrooms, fried in butter; two eggs; two tablespoonfuls of cold Espagnole sauce; one tablespoonful of tomato purée; a pinch of salt, and another of pepper. Mix the whole well.

(4) Butter a low-bordered quart Charlotte mould; line it all over with the egg-plant skins, and lay these black side uppermost. Garnish the bottom of the mould with a layer of mincemeat, one in. thick; on this layer place a few fried roundels of egg-plant, and continue thus with alternate layers of mince and egg-plant. Cover the last layer of mince-meat with the remains of the egg-plant skins, and cook in a bain-marie for one hour.

When taking the mould out of the oven, let it stand for five minutes in order that the ingredients may settle; turn out on a round dish, and besprinkle the surface of the Moussaka with chopped parsley.