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Title: Aegean Casserole
Yield: 8 Servings

Ingredients

      1    **white sauce**
      4 c  milk
    1/4 c  butter or margarine
    2/3 c  all-purpose flour
    1/2    bay leaf
      1 ts salt
    1/3 c  freshly grated parmesan
           -cheese
      1    rest:   :
      6 c  eggplant; finely diced
      2 ts salt; divided
      1 tb olive oil; (plus one 1 tsp
           -more)
      1 c  onions; finely chopped
      2 ts minced garlic
    1/2 ts cinnamon
      1 pn ground red pepper
      1 lb lean ground beef
    1/2 ts dried mint flakes
    1/2 ts freshly ground pepper
    1/4 c  tomato paste
      1 cn (28-oz) tomatoes
    1/3 c  fresh flat-leaf parsley;
           -chopped
      1 pk (16-oz) ziti pasta; cook
           -according to pk

Instructions

1. Make White Sauce: Bring milk to boil in medium saucepan over high heat.
Melt butter in large, heavy saucepan over medium heat Add flour and cook,
whisking, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, bay leaf and salt; bring to
boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring, 10 minutes. Remove from
heat. Discard bay leaf and stir in Parmesan.

2. Toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon salt; drain in colander 30 minutes. Pat
dry. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add
eggplant and cook, stirring, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to skillet. Add
onions and cook until tender, 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, cinnamon and red
pepper; cook 15 seconds. Add meat, mint, remaining 1 teaspoon and teaspoon
salt and the pepper; cook, stirring, until meat is no longer pink. Add
tomato paste and tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes with spoon. Add eggplant
and bring to simmer; simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in
parsley.

4. Transfer cooked ziti to large bowl and stir in 1 cup White Sauce. Spread
half the ziti in bottom of deep 5-quart casserole. Spoon on filling, then
remaining ziti and White Sauce. Bake uncovered 25 to 35 minutes, until
bubbly and browned.

Per serving: 339 Calories; 22g Fat (58% calories from fat); 16g Protein;
20g Carbohydrate; 74mg Cholesterol; 1039mg Sodium

NOTES : We combined the flavors of our favorite Greek specialties-moussaka
and pastitsio--to create a new classic.

Recipe by: LHJ

Posted to MC-Recipe Digest by Lisa Minor on Feb 4,
1998

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