Moussaka
Jul 4th, 2007 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Beef, Main, Recipe, Sauce, Vegetables
Who hasn’t tried Moussaka? No one.
Who’s had a bad Moussaka? Everyone!
Here’s another classical Greek dish where the ingredients are tweaked but not toyed with. I’ve updated this dish, made it more healthy by grilling the eggplant and I use extra-lean ground beef.
Three skills are involved here: grilling, making a good meat sauce and executing a Bechamel Sauce.
Moussaka
3 large eggplants
1 kg of extra lean ground beef
4 tbsp of olive oil
2 large onions, diced
3 bay leaves
6 cloves of minced garlic
1 can of plum tomatoes, pureed (or Pomodoro)
1/2 cup white wine
salt, pepper
3 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Peel, wash and cut the eggplants into large, thin slices. Salt and them to drain for at least an hour. Pat them dry, brush them with olive oil, grill them on high heat (3 minutes per side) and reserve.
- Prepare the meat sauce by pouring olive oil into a sauce pan and add your onions, garlic and bay leaves. Reduce to medium-low and cook until the onions are translucent. Add your beef and brown. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add your wine and reduce until there’s barely any liquid. Add your tomato sauce, oregano. Simmer until you have a thick meat sauce. Adjust seasoning and add your cinnamon. Remove the bay leaves and set aside your sauce.
Bechamel Sauce
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
5 cups of warm milk (no lighter than 2%)
4 eggs
3/4 cup of Kefalotiri or Romano cheese
salt to taste
pinch of grated nutmeg
- Put the butter in a pot to melt. Add the flour, stirring quickly with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps from forming. Stir & cook the flour/butter mixture to a golden colour.
- Pour in the milk while stirring and then and salt to taste, stirring the mixture constantly. When it thickens, turn off the heat and add your cheese and slowly pour in your eggs, continue stirring.
- Add your nutmeg and stir.
Assembly
- In a large casserole, place one layer of eggplant on the bottom then spread some meat sauce over top and sprinkle with some grated cheese.
- Add the second layer of eggplant and again the meat sauce and the grated cheese.
- Pour the Bechamel Sauce on top and sprinkle more grated cheese to help with a crisp, golden surface. Bake in a pre-heated 375F oven for 30-40 minutes or when top is golden brown.
- Allow the Moussaka to rest for 30 minutes before cutting and serving.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| © Submit to Any - jjtcomputing.co.uk |
Print This Post
Mmmm… I just love Moussaka! Yours looks great, it got some awesome golden colour on the top. Yum!
Nice looking moussaka Peter! I love that you grilled your eggplant! I will do it that way, next time I make it! It is one of those all day cooking affairs which I love! A labor of love!
Jenn, I’m having another slab right now Also, it’s a good make-ahead dish…just make the Bechamel day of serving.
I love mussaka ! It’s so yummy !
This looks good. The cinnamon and nutmeg should make it interesting. And eggplants should be in season now. I will definitely have to look for some Kefalotiri cheese!
Kevin, Romano cheese is a perfectly good substitute.
Your moussaka looks real good, I attempted one last night following a recipe (which, I had a feeling may need a bit of *tweaking* but made no changes!). The end result was tasty but a bit of a runny sauce. It didn’t brown quite as well on top, but the white sauce was different it contained yoghurt, a couple of eggs and feta cheese.
[...] can recall having Moussaka from as early as my memory takes me. Every Greek home has a version of Moussaka and surely any of you who read my blog on a regular basis also (of course) enjoy Greek food and [...]
My first attempt at Moussaka was Peter’s recipe sans basil. The result was “phenomenal” in the words of my friends and co-workers. Every weekend I spend cooking Greek and I wouldn’t have the confidence and know-how to do so without this blog.
Thanks Peter!
[...] Modified Moussaka — Eggplant and lamb dish So as my cooking blog world grows I get inspired by more and more people. A week or two ago Auntie V made this eggplant and lamb casserole. Eggplant and lamb are so delicious together so I was immediately drawn to her recipe when I saw her post it on twitter. I knew eggplant and lamb was in my future. I ended up thinking I’d rather make some facsimile of Moussaka which I’ve never made and probably only eaten once or twice. It’s a very delicious Greek dish. I bounced around and looked at multiple Moussaka recipes. Also, since I read a wonderful Greek blogger who makes wonderful Greek food, I visited Peter’s site and found this recipe. [...]
[...] Moussaka (eggplant and lamb casserole) 2009 November 12 by monicajane So as my cooking blog world grows I get inspired by more and more people. A week or two ago Auntie V made this eggplant and lamb casserole. Eggplant and lamb are so delicious together so I was immediately drawn to her recipe when I saw her post it on twitter. I knew eggplant and lamb was in my future. I ended up thinking I’d rather make some facsimile of Moussaka which I’ve never made and probably only eaten once or twice. It’s a very delicious Greek dish. I bounced around and looked at multiple Moussaka recipes. Also, since I read a wonderful Greek blogger who makes wonderful Greek food, I visited Peter’s site and found this recipe. [...]
[...] going to share a vegetarian version of Moussaka with artichokes being the main ingredient. The classic Greek Moussaka is made of eggplant and ground meat, some families will also add a potato layer and the dish is [...]