eggplant moussaka stacks (with the braised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat sauce)

meat sauce :

• prepare the meat sauce in advance and set aside (see recipe here but make/use only half or 1,25 kg) and add any extra leftover roasted eggplant flesh from extra outer end slices before assembling everything

eggplants :

• slice off the 2 outer sides of the eggplant to expose the flesh but keep the external ends and stalks intact and still attached to the central slice and then slice lengthwise into 3 flat & wide layers almost 2 cm thick each but keep the extra pieces that you will also roast and scrape out the flesh to add to the meat sauce
• *note : due to the presentation style with the thick roasted eggplant slices, the extra outer slices with only 1 side of visible flesh and 1 side of skin will not be used for the assembly but they can also be roasted and you can scrape out the flesh and add it to the meat sauce; 2 kg of 8 small whole eggplants will yield 16 raw usable thick slices of 1,7 kg total and 8 thin raw unusable end slices of 350 grams, salting them to extract the water will decrease the 16 thick slices to 1,4 kg and roasting them will reduce the total weight of the 16 slices by almost half to 800 grams total for 8 stacks or 100 grams per stack of 3 roasted eggplant slices …
• brush the eggplant slices with white wine vinegar and then salt each piece on both sides and let sit for 30-45 minutes between 2 clean kitchen towels (or layers of paper towels) on both sides to release and absorb about 25% of their water, then brush with olive oil on both sides and roast on the middle rack in a 200°C preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until slightly browned, but flip them over once after 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool down completely
• when cooled down, reassemble the 8 stacks and coat the outer side of the bottom and top slices of each eggplant stack with breadcrumbs and set aside (do not coat the center slice with the stalk nor the inner sides of the top and bottom slices)

béchamel/mornay sauce (see more detailed instructions here) :

• heat the butter until bubbling, add the flour and whisk until cooked, slowly add the warmed milk and keep whisking until it thickens at medium heat, add the salt and spices and when thick enough to hold its shape, add the beaten egg and grated cheese, stir well and set aside
• *note : this béchamel/mornay sauce needs to be thicker than usual to be a topping that won’t slide off !

assembly :

• cut out 8 pieces of baking paper for each stack to be prepared (for easier lifting into the baking dish before baking and lifting out of the dish after baking)
• prepare the 8 individual stacks of 3 thick eggplant slices each, matching them up
• separate the meat sauce half and in 2 bowls so that you have enough for the 2 layers
• place the first bottom slice on the baking paper, breadcrumb coated side on the underside, add the 1^st layer of the meat sauce, add the non-breadcrumb-coated middle slice in the middle, add the 2^nd layer of the meat sauce, cover with the last slice of roasted eggplant with the breadcrumb-coated side on the outside and facing upwards, gently spoon and spread out the thickened cream sauce on the top and sprinkle with some dried herbs and more grated cheese if you like
• when all the stacks are ready, bake the eggplant moussaka stacks in a 180°C pre-heated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until well cooked and slightly golden on top
• remove from the oven, let cool down for 5-7 minutes and serve by sliding each baked stack off of the baking paper and onto your plate with some salad.