Yes, the recipe for moussaka has 25 ingredients. No, I never run recipes that long, because who has the time?
To be honest, when I decided to write about the food of Greece I wasn’t even thinking of including a recipe for moussaka, because it is too obvious a choice. Most everyone who wants to make moussaka already has a recipe for it. But then I saw that the recipe came from Molyvos, a restaurant in New York City. And suddenly I could not wait to try it.
Greek food is one of the world’s great cuisines, and no wonder. The civilization has been around for thousands of years, and for all of that time they have been perfecting ways to cook with the wonderful, fresh ingredients they have on hand: fish, lamb, olives, lemons, cinnamon, garlic, honey, goat cheese, yogurt and oregano.
And wine, too. Don’t forget, the ancient Greeks had a god of wine, Dionysus.