A mashup of a 1999 Bon Appetit recipe and a recipe by Lynn Livanos Athan with a Springdell CSA twist. No need to be exact with the vegetable ratios, going with what's seasonably available seems most important.
Ingredients
About 1 pounds of eggplant, sliced into ¼-1/2 inch rounds.
2 large potatoes, preferably Yukon gold
2-4 portobello mushroom caps (6-12 ounces)
3 carrots, finely diced
2 large onions, finely diced
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 crisp apples, chopped
dash of celery seed
olive oil
¼ cup fresh parsley (or ½ tablespoon dried parsley)
1 cup of fresh tomato puree
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
½ cup red wine
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
7 tablespoons of all purpose flour
3½ cups of whole milk
4 large egg yolks, beaten
Instructions
Layer the eggplant slices in a colander and sprinkle kosher salt on the rounds as you go. Cover the with a plate and weigh the plate down with a heavy can or jar. Check back n at least 20 minutes. Rinse the salt and then dry with paper towels before brushing them with oil.
Meanwhile, peel and boil potatoes whole until just losing their crisp. Slice into ¼ inch slices and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 425 and bake your eggplant slices in a rimmed cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes per side or until tender.
For the tomato mixture, in a large heated sauté pan, add olive oil, onion and carrots and saute until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook one minute more. Add the wine and and reduce it for a bit before adding the cinnamon, parsley, tomato puree and paste, mushroom, celery seed and apple. Simmer until the wine reduces to create a dry, chunky tomato sauce, about 10 minutes or so.
For the béchamel, melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk constantly for about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk and stir for about 5 minutes before adding in ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper before whisking in the egg yolks. Continue to whisk until things thicken, anywhere from 5-15 minutes, stirring constantly.
Grease a large baking dish before layering in potatoes, followed by eggplant, tomato mixture, and top with the béchamel sauce. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and bake for 1 hour at 350.
Recipe by CSA|365 at https://www.csa365.org/2015/10/meatless-monday-vegetable-moussaka/