Moussaka
Moussaka is any type of dish made by layering vegetables and ground meat, found in many countries around the world. However, I've prepared the Greek version (Moussaka), which is the most popular variation. It consists of layers of eggplant and potatoes with ground meat, topped with béchamel sauce. It's a dish that tastes even better the next day.
Since it's quite labor-intensive to prepare, it's a good idea to make multiple portions at once and freeze them.
Ingredients
5 potatoes
1 medium eggplant
500g ground meat
1/2 glass dry red wine (optional)
1 onion
400g canned tomatoes (or passata, or tomato paste)
salt
pepper
thyme
100ml oil + 2 tablespoons
Béchamel sauce:
50g butter
1 heaping tablespoon flour
300ml hot milk
150g cheese (one that melts easily, I used Moeciu)
Servings: 4-5
How to prepare moussaka
- Prepare the meat sauce: Sauté the finely chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of oil. When softened, add the ground meat and fry until all the liquid evaporates and it starts to brown slightly. At that point, add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of thyme. Mix well, cover the pot, and simmer on medium heat for 45 minutes. Stir the sauce occasionally and if it reduces too much, add a little water (or wine).
- While the meat is cooking, peel the potatoes and slice them into thin rounds. Slice the eggplant into rounds as well, as thin as possible so they fry quickly.
- Fry the potatoes in a pan with 50ml oil. If the pan is smaller, fry them in batches. Similarly, fry the eggplant in the remaining 50ml oil.
* The traditional recipe calls for frying the vegetables in oil, but I recommend grilling the eggplant, just brushed with a little oil, so they don't absorb what I consider an unnecessary amount of oil. - Transfer the fried vegetables to paper towels and let them drain.
- Prepare the béchamel sauce using this technique. In this recipe, I used more milk because the sauce needs to be a bit thinner. Add the grated cheese to the sauce.
- In an oven-safe dish, layer the potatoes, then a layer of eggplant. On top, add a layer of meat sauce. Repeat: another layer of potatoes, then eggplant, then meat. Pour the béchamel sauce over the meat.
* My oval dish is 25cm long and 15cm wide.
** I didn't use all the béchamel sauce, just what fit in the dish, but it should cover the meat well. - Bake at 180C for 30 minutes, until golden on top. Let it cool, then slice. Serve with a glass of dry red wine, as this is a very hearty dish.
Fry the potatoes
Fry the eggplant
Drain on paper towels
Béchamel sauce with grated cheese
A layer of potatoes, then eggplant...
Layer of meat...
The final layer is the béchamel sauce
A slice for you
