A decadent pairing: Moussaka and 2007 Esprit de Beaucastel

One of my favorite cookbooks is the classic (and sadly now out of print) Mediterranean Cooking by Paula Wolfert. There are probably a dozen recipes in it that we’ve made multiple times, and one of them has become a family favorite that we return to at least a few times each year. The original page is marked up with a half-dozen annotations and additions, and the book, binding long gone, opens to it as soon as you set it down on the counter. That recipe is the Greek classic moussaka. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's the ultimate in comfort food. There's a layer of sautéed potatoes at the bottom. On top of that is a rich lamb-based meat sauce with warm spices. Above that is slices of broiled eggplant. And on top is a layer of creamy béchamel sauce. There are, of course, many variations of this ancient dish. In fact, Wolfert herself suggests a variation where the top layer is a yogurt sauce rather than béchamel. But as with any recipe that you make enough, we feel like it's become, over the years, ours.

With Eli, our 19-year-old, home from college for the summer, we've been cycling through some of our favorite family recipes, and last week made moussaka. It was glorious, as it always is, and we decided to up the ante on the unapologetically luxurious dish by pairing it with perhaps the most hedonistic wine we've ever made at Tablas Creek, the 2007 Esprit de Beaucastel. From a warm, low-yielding year, it's always been a wine built to impress. There's a sweetness to the fruit (though it's a dry wine) that's both a reflection of that year and of that era of our winemaking, when we were leaning a little more into lushness. It received some of the highest scores we've ever gotten, including a 95-97 point rating from Robert Parker that resulted in us selling out about six months before we expected, and our highest-ever placement (#33) in the Wine Spectator's year-end Top 100.

The wine has aged beautifully, adding lovely meaty, leathery, truffly notes to the currant and sweet spice flavors that it carried from the beginning. The sweeter elements to the wine suggested it might be a good pairing for the moussaka, which includes cinnamon and allspice, as well as the sweetness from three cups of sautéed onions and a cup of tomato puree. And it was glorious:

There are times where you stumble unexpectedly on the perfect wine for a given meal. Those experiences are wonderful. But there are also times where you think a wine will be great for a particular dish, and it is. Those experiences are in some ways even more satisfying. This was one of those cases. I'll share the recipe, as we've evolved to make it, below. It's a fair amount of work, though it can be done in advance and so can be great for a gathering. But there's nothing technically difficult about it, and the rewards are amazing. If you make it and can try it with a bottle of Esprit from the late 2000s, I can promise you it will be mind-bendingly good. But even if you don't have that exact pairing, go ahead and try it. There's a reason why lamb and Mourvedre is such a classic pairing. They're just magical together.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants (about 2 lbs)
• Salt
• Olive oil
• 3 cups minced onions
• 2 tsp. garlic, minced
• 2 lbs. ground lamb
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 5 medium potatoes, about 2 lbs. Red-skinned are ideal, but it's not fussy.
• 1 stick (8 tbsp) butter
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 6 tbsp. flour
• ground nutmeg

Note that all four of the layers can be prepared simultaneously, though if this is your first time, my recommendation is that you not try to do anything else while making the béchamel.

For the eggplant layer:

• Peel eggplants and slice into half-inch rounds
• Soak those eggplant slices in salted water for a half-hour
• Preheat a broiler
• Squeeze extra water out of the eggplants, then pat dry with paper towels 
• Lightly oil a large baking sheet, lay out the eggplant rounds on the sheet in a single layer, and brush with more olive oil
• Broil until lightly brown, then flip and broil the other side until lightly browned
• Allow to cool

For the meat layer:

• In a large Dutch oven or other enameled pot, heat 6 tbsp. of olive oil on low heat
• Add the onions and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until they are soft, about 10 minutes
• Turn heat to medium and add the lamb and cook, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until browned
• Stir in the spices, tomato puree, water, parsley, and salt to taste, and bring to a simmer
• Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until you get a thick sauce, about 30 minutes.

For the potato layer:

• Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/8-inch rounds
• Heat 3 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet and add the potato slices
• Cook, turning and separating so that the slices brown evenly but nothing burns, about 10 minutes
• Sprinkle with salt and set aside to cool 

For the béchamel layer:

• Heat milk either on the stove or in a large microwave-safe measuring cup until hot
• In a medium Dutch oven or cast iron pot over low heat, melt 6 tbsp. butter 
• Whisk in flour and cook, whisking continuously 2-3 minutes until it just starts to turn golden and smells nutty
• Whisk in heated milk and cook, whisking very regularly, for about 10 minutes or until it achieves the consistency of a thick cream soup
• Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of nutmeg

To assemble the moussaka:

• Butter the bottom and sides of a 10" x 14" x 2" Pyrex or ceramic baking dish
• Cover the bottom of the baking dish with an overlapping later of potatoes
• Pour the meat sauce over the potato layer and spread evenly
• Top the meat layer with a layer of eggplant
• Pour the béchamel over the eggplant and smooth with a spatula
• Dot the top of the béchamel with the remaining tbsp. of butter

At this point, you can cover the dish with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours, or you can cook it. When you're ready to cook:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F
• Bake until the béchamel is golden brown and the whole thing is bubbling, about 40 minutes if assembled warm or 50 minutes if refrigerated
• Remove from the oven, let settle 5 minutes, then slice into squares and serve