Sweet Potato Moussaka

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Coat the base of three large baking dishes with 20mL extra virgin olive oil (a baking paper lined baking tray could also be used). Arrange the sweet potato across the base of the dishes and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, using hands to rub oil evenly over surface of sweet potato. Season with salt and pepper and place into the oven to bake for 40 minutes or until tender and golden on top. Once baked, remove from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, add a good dash (20 mL) of extra virgin olive oil to a large saucepan or casserole pan. Bring to a medium-low heat and add the onions. Sauté the onions until tender and then add the garlic. Continue to sauté for a further 3 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.

To the pan add the ground cinnamon, oregano, and lamb mince. Use the wooden spoon to break up and fry until the meat is browned.

Add the tomato paste and red wine to the pan, stirring through. Bring to a higher heat and cook until red wine is reduced by half. Add the passata and bay leaf and stir through. Season with salt and pepper and simmer on medium for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, pour 50mL extra virgin olive oil into a saucepan on a low heat. Add the arrowroot flour to the pan and whisk to combine. The mixture should almost resemble raw pastry at this point. Add a dash of the milk and whisk quickly, being careful to avoid lumps. Once full incorporated and mixture is thickening add another dash of milk and whisk through. Repeat this step until all the milk is added. Continue stirring the white sauce until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If using cheese, add 2/3 of the grated cheese to the white sauce and whisk through until melted.

To make the moussaka, arrange slices of roasted sweet potato on the bottom of the baking dish, so that they overlap slightly. Layer thinly sliced zucchini in the same way. Remove the bay leaf from the meat mixture and before pouring over the top of the zucchini. Layer the remaining vegetables across the top of the meat mixture.

Add the eggs to the white sauce and whisk to combine. Pour over the top of the sweet potato. Top with grated nutmeg and extra grated cheese. Place the moussaka into the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until cheese is golden on top.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.