Parmassaka

I couldn’t decide whether I felt like eating Aubergine Parmigiana or Lasagne or Moussaka, so I decided THEM ALL was the answer. Here I bring them together to make this beautiful lovechild. It’s meant to have just a delicate amount of pasta in order to let the aubergine shine, but do use more and bulk it up if you like. This recipe doesn’t involve faffing with bechamel; just grab a pot of ricotta and a ball of mozzarella and you’re good to go.

ingredients

serves 4-6

7 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1-2 tbsp harissa (amount depends on brand), ideally Belazu smoked chilli harissa
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp brown sugar, optional
400g lamb mince
1 large round or 2 medium aubergine, sliced into 5mm rounds
2 tsp dried oregano
A small bunch of basil, leaves picked
125g ricotta
8-10 sheets of dried lasagne
1 ball of mozzarella
30g grated Parmesan

instructions

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/400F. Warm 3 tablespoons olive oil over a medium heat and fry the onions and garlic with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes until softened, then add the tomatoes, harissa, bay leaf, cinnamon and some seasoning and and simmer for 30 minutes until reduced.

Meanwhile, line a couple of baking trays with baking paper and rub with a tablespoon or so of oil. Spread out the aubergine slices, then drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil, the dried oregano and some seasoning. Place in the oven for 18-20 minutes, turning once, until golden and tender, then leave to cool. Keep the oven on.

Place a frying pan over a medium-high heat and warm up the final tablespoon of oil. Season the lamb and once the pan is nice and hot, add the mince and cook, stirring until golden but don’t let it dry out too much. Scoop into the tomato sauce, leaving behind any excess fat. Simmer for another 5 minutes to give it time to get to know the sauce. Check the seasoning and add more harissa or even a pinch of sugar if you feel it needs perking up. 

To assemble, cover the bottom of a medium baking dish with a third of the lamb sauce, dot with a third of the ricotta, scatter with some basil leaves and cover in a layer of cooked aubergine, then a layer of lasagne sheets, then repeat twice more, foregoing the lasagne at the end and finishing with a layer of aubergine. 

Rip the mozzarella into small pieces and scatter over the top, then sprinkle with the Parmesan. Drizzle with oil, then place in the oven for 40-45 minutes until deep golden and bubbling. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving with a green salad. Incredibly delicious cold, as you can imagine.