All right, french fry fans, here’s Part 3 in the Fun French Fry subcategory of my series on 2012 Food Trends for the Home Cook! It’s got tons of flavor and loads of healthy veg so you can feel great about feeding it to your brood!

I based this recipe on three iconic Greek recipes: pastitsio, moussaka, and kleftiko. So, once again, this isn’t authentically Greek, but rather, a bastardized mishmash of what most of us know and love of Greek flavors. Don’t tell your yia-yia!

So, step one is to prepare your oven fries. Refer to this post for the method I like to use, but today, instead of sprinkling them with crab seasoning, we are going to use grated kefalotyri cheese (if we want to be really authentic), or parmesan/romano (if we just want to get real).

Greek Chili

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 pound ground lamb

1 large onion

1 sweet red bell pepper

1/2 cup baby carrots

1 small eggplant, cubed

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely minced

3 ounces tomato paste (1/2 small can)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

few handfuls fresh spinach leaves

Salt and Pepper to taste

While your fries are in the oven gettin’ their groove on, heat the olive oil in a big pot over a medium flame. Add in the ground lamb and break it up with a wooden spoon.

You can substitute ground beef or turkey, I guess, but I mean… that ground lamb is so damn good and Greeky.

While the meat is getting browned, coarsely chop your onion and pepper.

Add them into the pot along with the carrots, eggplant (I’m not using eggplant, it’s not my thang. I thumb my nose at the rules, that’s just the kinda badass I am.), bay leaves, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, rosemary, and salt and pep. Also grate in your garlic with a microplane, if you have one, if not just mince it up fine.

Once everything is getting all soft and tender and you’re about to pass out from how good it smells, take it to the next level with some tomato paste.

Stir it all in and then just let it get all toasty on the bottom of your pot.

Add in the wine and scrape all that brown crud off the pot bottom with your wooden spoon.

Add in the stock and the spinach and just let it simmer away until your fries are done.

Top the fries with a heapin’ helpin’ of that freaky Greeky and sprinkle on the cheese! I’m using feta crumbles.

Like what I got? There’s plenty more where that came from. (I’m full of great ideas!):

Click here for the Intro to the Series (2012 Food Trends for the Home Cook)

Click here for the First of the Series (Crabby Fries with Cheese)

Click here for the Second of the Series (French Onion Poutine/Disco Fries)

Click here for the Fourth of the Series (Buffalo French Fries)

Click here for the Fifth of the Series (Truffle Fries)