The Cress Garden: The Local Organic Farm For Cress Restaurant, DeLand, FL

some images courtesy of planted earth vegetables

Our passion for sharing great food and hospitality naturally means that we are happy to have you receive an insider's view into the preparation of our food and service. Along these lines, we are happy to periodically share recipes from the cress menu as well as others that we think exemplify great use of seasonal ingredients.

Item

Recipe

Aubergine Korma

Lamb Mousaka

Ciabatta Bread

Chef's Comments: In graduate school, I had several friends who hailed from Greece, but I don't recall ever tasting mousaka at their homes. It was usually a lot of lemon oregano chicken with potatoes and of course, ouzo! I learnt to make this dish in culinary school, but this is my interpretation of this Greek classic. One may substitute an array of roasted seasonal vegetables in lieu of the lamb for a vegetarian version. To roast vegetables, cut or slice them into uniform pieces, season with salt, pepper, drizzle a bit of virgin olive oil, and roast in a 350 F oven for 30-45 minutes.

LAMB MOUSAKA

SERVINGS: 4

INGREDIENTS

eggplant	2.5 lbs, partially skinned
olive oil	enough for sauteing
flour	2-3 T
onion	1 large, finely diced
ground lamb	1 lb
garlic	3 cloves, minced
salt and pepper	to taste
tomatoes	1/2 lb, peeled
white wine	3/4 cup
tomato paste	1 T
fresh oregano	1.5 T, chopped
fresh parsley	1 T, chopped
breadcrumbs	1/4 cup
melted butter	3 oz
milk	4 cups
nutmeg	pinch, freshly grated
cloves	2 ea. (powder will do)
bay leaf (fresh is best)	2 ea
egg yolks	2 ea
grated gruyere cheese	2 oz
grated kefalotiri cheese (sub with parmeggiano or pecorino	3 oz

PROCEDURE

1. Slice eggplants lengthwise and season with salt. Let sit for 30 minutes and squeeze out excess liquid. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dust with a little flour and saute in extra-virgin olive oil. Drain onto paper towels.
2. In a pan, saute onions until translucent. Add ground lamb and garlic and cook until meat is browned. Deglaze with white wine. Add oregano, parsley, peeled tomatoes, tomato paste. Simmer until thick. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Make a roux by heating equal parts butter and flour until thick, dry and slightly brown (do not let it burn!). Add cold milk, and whisk to dissolve. Cook until starchiness is removed and sauce thickens. Add one bay leaf, the nutmeg and cloves. Add more roux or milk to adjust thickness to a smooth creamy sauce. Remove and temper in the egg yolks and return to low heat until the sauce thickens slightly. Remember to whisk continuously to avoid scrambling the eggs. Fold in the cheese. Remove the cloves in they are whole. Set aside. This is the Mornay sauce.
4. In a buttered or oiled baking pan, sprinkle the bread crumbs.
5. Place a layer of eggplant topped with a layer of the meat stew. season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley.
6. Repeat layers of Step 5 until all is used. Make sure that the last layer is eggplant.
7. Pour the thick Mornay sauce over the top.
8. Bake uncovered in a 350 F oven until very hot throughout and the sauce is set and browned (about 55-60 minutes).
9. Let cool slightly before cutting.