Greek Mac

Greek Macaroni Casserole


I hate eggplants. I hate the name. Who in their right mind would name a purple melon an eggplant? I’ll tell you who…Greek people. That’s right, the people who invented the Olympics and olive oil named this hellish bulb an eggplant. Why? Who knows. Maybe back in the olden days, they had Greek ostriches who laid purple eggs. The only thing that I know is that there is a lot of consternation in the Red Neck Chef’s household because I do not like eggplants and my spouse does. If you make it right, like soaking the sliced innards in salt water and getting rid of that nasty rind, I could eat it with a lot of bourbon, which is marriage-saving.

Anyway, to get around making eggplant dishes, I make this recipe, sans eggplant. It is a great pasta dish with the right amount of Greekness to it to inspire a legion of eggplant lovers to try something else.

Ingredients

2 lbs of ground beef

1 chopped onion

1/4 cup of chopped parsley

1 teaspoon of garlic in a jar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

one 8-oz can of tomato sauce

1/2 cup of white wine

butter

1 lb of macaroni

3 beaten eggs

salt and pepper

grated cheese

4 cups of white sauce
Brown the ground beef in a cast iron skillet with the butter. Add the onions, parsley, garlic, and cook for a while. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper, wine, and tomato sauce to the skillet, put a lid on it and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make your macaroni and drain it. Pour it in a bowl and add the eggs, a little melted butter, and as much shredded cheese as you want. Get a 9X13X2 baking pan, grease it, and pour half of the macaroni in. Cover with the meat sauce, add a layer of cheese, layer the rest of the macaroni, and pour the white sauce on top.

How do you make the white sauce? Heat 2 cups of milk. Put 1/4 cup of butter in a pan and melt it. Stir in 3-4 tablespoons of flour and make it all lumpy. Pour in very slowly the hot milk, stirring to make the sauce creamy and smooth. Add a little salt and pepper and let it thicken.  Consider it Greek Roux.

Pour this on top of your casserole and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top. Put this in the oven at 350 degrees for one hour. Take it out, let it cool, and enjoy.  Get some Retsina Greek wine to partake with this dish.  Don't worry about vegetables.  Don't need no vegetables.

I enjoy this dish usually alone, because my spouse usually leaves the house and heads for a Greek restaurant to have eggplant.