Moussaka is a traditional Greek eggplant casserole made with baked or pan fried eggplants (aubergines) and potatoes, a rich, tomatoey beef or lamb mince sauce and topped off with a deliciously creamy bechamel sauce. In other words, the ultimate comfort food.
I am still trying to recreate the one I had in Athens on my first night there, on a little restaurant rooftop terrace facing the Acropolis.
You can peel all, or parts, or none of the eggplant.
Slice the eggplants in uniform disks of about 1 cm thick.
Rinse them thoroughly with water until the water runs clear and season them with a good sprinkle of salt.
Finally, let them sit in a colander for half an hour.
Peel and slice the potatoes in uniform disks of about the same thickness as the eggplants (around 1 cm).
Finally rinse them under some running water to get rid of the excess starch.
I bake my moussaka aubergines and potatoes in the oven (but some people prefer to cook them in oil in a frying pan): drizzle your sliced aubergines and potatoes with some olive oil, season with a good pinch of salt and pepper and bake them spread out on sheet pans for 30 minutes at 400F until they are part way cooked and slightly browned on the outside.
I line the baking sheets with parchemin paper to make clean up easier.
Heat a large pan to medium-high heat and add the olive oil.
Stir in the chopped onions and sauté, until softened and slightly colored.
Stir in the ground beef (or lamb) breaking it up with a wooden spoon and sauté.
When it starts to brown, add the the garlic and tomato paste and sauté until the garlic starts to soften.
Pour in the red wine to deglaze the meat juices and wait to evaporate.
Add the canned tomatoes, the sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, 1 bay leaf and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes or until most of the juices have evaporated.
Set aside when done.
Use a large pan to melt the butter over low-medium heat.
Add the flour whisking continuously to make a paste.
Add warmed milk in a steady stream; keep whisking in order to prevent your sauce from getting lumpy.
If the sauce still needs to thicken, boil over low heat while continuing to stir. Its consistency should resemble a thick cream.
Remove the béchamel pan from the stove and stir in most of the grated cheese, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and the egg yolks,
Reserve some cheese to sprinkle on top! Whisk quickly, in order to prevent the eggs from turning an omelette!
Season with salt to taste.
Take one spoon full of béchamel and stir it in the meat sauce.
Set the béchamel sauce aside.
Pre heat oven at 350 F.
Butter the bottom and sides of a large (or two medium) baking dishes.
Layer the potatoes first, then half the eggplants.
Pour in the meat sauce and spread it out evenly.
Add a second layer of eggplants,
top with all of the béchamel sauce and smooth out with a spatula.
Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.
Bake your moussaka for about 60 minutes or until its crust turns light golden brown.
You can cook this ahead of time, refrigerate once it has cooled down or even freeze it.
Ingredients
Directions
You can peel all, or parts, or none of the eggplant.
Slice the eggplants in uniform disks of about 1 cm thick.
Rinse them thoroughly with water until the water runs clear and season them with a good sprinkle of salt.
Finally, let them sit in a colander for half an hour.
Peel and slice the potatoes in uniform disks of about the same thickness as the eggplants (around 1 cm).
Finally rinse them under some running water to get rid of the excess starch.
I bake my moussaka aubergines and potatoes in the oven (but some people prefer to cook them in oil in a frying pan): drizzle your sliced aubergines and potatoes with some olive oil, season with a good pinch of salt and pepper and bake them spread out on sheet pans for 30 minutes at 400F until they are part way cooked and slightly browned on the outside.
I line the baking sheets with parchemin paper to make clean up easier.
Heat a large pan to medium-high heat and add the olive oil.
Stir in the chopped onions and sauté, until softened and slightly colored.
Stir in the ground beef (or lamb) breaking it up with a wooden spoon and sauté.
When it starts to brown, add the the garlic and tomato paste and sauté until the garlic starts to soften.
Pour in the red wine to deglaze the meat juices and wait to evaporate.
Add the canned tomatoes, the sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, 1 bay leaf and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes or until most of the juices have evaporated.
Set aside when done.
Use a large pan to melt the butter over low-medium heat.
Add the flour whisking continuously to make a paste.
Add warmed milk in a steady stream; keep whisking in order to prevent your sauce from getting lumpy.
If the sauce still needs to thicken, boil over low heat while continuing to stir. Its consistency should resemble a thick cream.
Remove the béchamel pan from the stove and stir in most of the grated cheese, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and the egg yolks,
Reserve some cheese to sprinkle on top! Whisk quickly, in order to prevent the eggs from turning an omelette!
Season with salt to taste.
Take one spoon full of béchamel and stir it in the meat sauce.
Set the béchamel sauce aside.
Pre heat oven at 350 F.
Butter the bottom and sides of a large (or two medium) baking dishes.
Layer the potatoes first, then half the eggplants.
Pour in the meat sauce and spread it out evenly.
Add a second layer of eggplants,
top with all of the béchamel sauce and smooth out with a spatula.
Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.
Bake your moussaka for about 60 minutes or until its crust turns light golden brown.
You can cook this ahead of time, refrigerate once it has cooled down or even freeze it.