Sephardic Meat and Eggplant Lasagna: Meginah

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 2 pounds ground veal
• 4 tablespoons ground cinnamon, or to taste
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 pounds fresh mushrooms (button, cremini, or shiitake), sliced
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 2 large eggplants, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 6 cloves garolic, minced
• 16 thick, unbroken matzo crackers
• 4 to 6 (16-ounce) liquid egg cartons
• 6 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar or honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large frying pan, brown ground turkey and veal, approximately 10 minutes. Once brown, drain, then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cinnamon onto mixture, and set aside.

In another large frying pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil and saute diced onions until browned. Add sliced mushrooms to onion mixture, and saute together with seasoning, pinch of salt and pepper, until cooked. Place cooked mixture in large bowl and set aside.

Using the same frying pan (do not wash), add remaining 1/4 cup oil and saute with pinches of salt and pepper, diced eggplant and garlic, until soft. Add these ingredients to onions and mushrooms in the mixing bowl. Add minced parsley, salt, freshly ground pepper, and remaining 2 tablespoons of cinnamon.

Add 2 cans of tomato sauce to vegetable mixture. Combine browned turkey and veal with vegetable mixture; adjust seasonings. Add 1/4-cup sugar or honey to taste, and set aside.

Cover counter top with heavy-duty paper towels. Use 2 aluminum roasting pans, 1 for matzo-soaking process, and 1 for egg dipping process.

Fill 1 large aluminum roasting pan halfway with almost boiling water. Add matzos, 1 at a time to this "bath" and soak until wet through, not falling apart, but pliable. Remove and lay on paper towels. Place more towels on top of matzos to soak up excess water, if necessary.

Fill second large aluminum roasting pan with about 3 cartons of liquid eggs. (You will dip the softened matzos into egg mixture, 1 at a time as you layer.)

Grease 2 (9-1/2 by 13 inch) glass baking dishes lightly with olive oil. Open remaining cans of tomato sauce, pour into mixing bowl, and set aside.

Start layering in Pyrex baking dish. First with a thin amount of tomato sauce on bottom, then with 2 to 2 1/2 egg dipped matzos (these are used similarly to lasagna noodles), then with filling mixture, then several dollops of tomato sauce, continuing to repeat process until each baking dish uses 6 to 8 matzos. Finish with a layer of matzos brushed lightly with tomato sauce. (Note: each baking dish has 3 matzo layers total.)

Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes, until top is firm and golden.