Greek Chicken and Orzo “Moussaka” Hot Dish Serves 10 – 12 People Prep Time: 1 Hour Cooking Time: 1.5 Hours

Ingredients *5 Cups of Cooked Chicken, pulled into bite sized pieces ½ Pound of Orzo Pasta, boiled and drained 5 Cups of Eggplant, cut into ½” cubes (1 large eggplant or 2 medium eggplants) ½ Cup Olive Oil 1 Large Yellow Onion, diced 6 Garlic Cloves, minced 1 tbsp Tomato Paste ½ tsp. Allepo Pepper or Crushed Red Pepper Flakes 2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon 1 tsp. Ground Allspice ½ cup Red Wine 1 – 28 oz. Can Tomato Purée ½ Cup Water 2 tsp. Granulated Sugar 3 tsp. Salt, separated 1 tsp. Black Pepper 2 Egg Whites, beaten ½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese Béchamel Topping (see recipe below)

Ingredients for Béchamel Topping 4 tbsp. Butter 4 tbsp. Flour 2 ½ Cups Whole Milk ¼ tsp. Nutmeg 1/8 tsp. White Pepper ¼ tsp. Salt 3 Egg Yolks, whisked 10 oz. Feta Cheese Crumbles ½ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

1. First prepare the eggplant by peeling off the skin and cutting into cubes. Place the cubes into a colander, sprinkle with one teaspoon salt and set aside for about 30 minutes.

2. While you are “sweating” the eggplant begin your tomato sauce. In a large dutch oven over medium heat add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, once it is glistening add the diced onion, sprinkle the onion with a little bit of salt and sautée it for about 3 minutes, allow it to become translucent but not brown. Next, add the minced garlic, stir together for about 30 seconds and then add the tomato paste, cinnamon and allspice. Stir these ingredients together for about 2 minutes, releasing the natural oils in the dried spices and tomato paste. Next, turn the heat up to medium high and add the red wine, deglaze the pot, scraping up any dark bits that have stuck to the bottom. After about a minute add the tomato puree, water, sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt and the black pepper. Bring the ingredients to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium low, you are looking for the gentlest of bubbles to pop up every few seconds. Allow the sauce to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring it every now and then as it cooks to make sure it is not sticking to the bottom of the pot.

3. While the sauce is cooking return to the eggplant and using paper towels or kitchen towels squeeze out all of the water that has been drawn out of the eggplant pieces. Set the dried eggplant aside.

4. After 30 minutes remove the tomato sauce from the heat. If you have an immersion blender use it to purée the tomato sauce right in the dutch oven, otherwise, working in batches, add the tomato sauce to a blender and process until smooth. Return the blended sauce to the dutch oven. Next, stir the eggplant cubes into the sauce and return the sauce to a gentle boil for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes taste the sauce for any final seasoning adjustments of salt, pepper or sugar then remove it from the heat, cover and set aside.

5. Next prepare the Béchamel sauce. In a medium sized pot over medium high heat melt the butter. Once melted add the flour and stir together with a wooden spoon for about 2 minutes. You are looking for the two to combine together creating gentle bubbles and turning to a light blonde color, taking care for it to not turn brown. Once the flour is nicely mixed into the butter remove the pot from the heat and begin to add the milk. At first add just a couple of tablespoons, and with a whisk incorporate the liquid into the butter and flour mixture, once it has smoothed out slowly add the rest of the milk, whisking as you add it. Return the pot to the stove and over medium heat, warm the liquid up stirring off and on for about 5 minutes. You will see as the milk heats up it will begin to thicken and eventually coat the back of your wooden spoon, this is what you are looking. Once it has thickened whisk in the salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Finally, remove the pot from the heat and whisk slowly whisk in the egg yolk, taking care to not scramble them. Once the eggs have been added stir in the feta cheese and parmesan cheese. Set aside.

6. Now that the Tomato and Béchamel Sauces are ready preheat your oven to 350°F and assemble the casserole. First, grease a 9 X 13 sized baking dish. Next, stir the pulled chicken and the cooked orzo in to the dutch oven which is holding the Tomato Sauce and Eggplant, stir it all together and pour the contents into the baking dish. Next, pour the béchamel sauce over the top of casserole and spread it evenly over the orzo with a spatula.Finally, place the casserole onto a baking sheet to catch any drips that might occur during baking and place the casserole into the center of the oven. Bake for 1 hour to an 1 hour and 15 minutes, rotating the dish halfway through. The casserole is ready once the béchamel has become light brown and bubbly on top, much like mozzarella on a pizza, the exact cooking time will depend a bit on your oven.

7. Once the casserole is ready remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 20 – 30 minutes before serving.

Ingredient Notes *I use the meat from a Rotisserie Chicken for this dish but you can use any left over cooked chicken that you have as well.

To learn more about Tig and her recipes check out her blog A Pinch of Lemon and her restaurant Kafe 421