Each cuisine has food with a legend. For Greece it is Moussaka. It is served in every Greek tavern, cooked in any Greek house, and everyone of course has his own recipe for the ‘right’ moussaka. Everything is like with our borsch 😊
Each cuisine has food with a legend. For Greece it is Moussaka. It is served in every Greek tavern, cooked in any Greek house, and everyone of course has his own recipe for the ‘right’ moussaka. Everything is like with our borsch 😊- Prep time: 30 minutes
- Cook time: 1 hour
- Serves: 6-8
- Difficulty: medium
- Course: main course
- Cookware: deep roasting tin
- Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients
- 1 kg aubergines
- 1 kg potatoes
- 1 kg minced beef
- 1 large onion, peeled, finely chopped
- 50 g breadcrumbs
- 400 ml olive oil
- 50 g butter for frying plus extra for greasing
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- bay leaf
- nutmeg, grated
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
For tomato paste:
- 400 g canned peeled tomatoes
- 50 g tomato paste
- oregano
- sugar
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
For béchamel sauce:
- 1 litre milk
- 100 g butter
- 7 tbsp flour
- 2 eggs
- nutmeg, grated
Cooking method
Step 1
For béchamel sauce. Melt the butter over low heat in a saucepan. Stirring with a whisk gradually add flour. Stirring constantly fry slightly and slowly pour in milk. Then add eggs one at a time and nutmeg. Whisk to a creamy consistency and remove from heat.
Step 2
Mix the tomatoes with a blender. Add salt, pepper, oregano, tomato paste, sugar and mix well.
Step 3
In a deep-frying pan over medium heat fry the onions in butter until golden brown. Add minced beef and fry evenly. Add tomato paste, cinnamon, bay leaf, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Simmer the minced meat over the low heat until cooked (until all the liquid has evaporated). Remove bay leaf from the cooked meat.
Step 4
Peel the aubergine and cut along ½ cm slices. Salt and fry in vegetable oil until golden on both sides. Put on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Repeat the same process with potatoes.
Step 5
Heat the oven to 180°C. Prepare a deep roasting tin: grease it with butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Put a layer of potatoes, then a layer of aubergines, a layer of minced meat and pour everything with bechamel sauce. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs on top and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
My tips and tricks:
In Greece lamb is much more popular even in-home cooking than beef. And moussaka is no exception – usually it is made from minced lamb. So it turns out much more aromatic and rich. If you can find a good mutton, be sure to try making minced meat and enjoy a piece of sunny Greece in your kitchen 😊
- 1 kg aubergines
- 1 kg potatoes
- 1 kg minced beef
- 1 large onion, peeled, finely chopped
- 50 g breadcrumbs
- 400 ml olive oil
- 50 g butter for frying plus extra for greasing
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- bay leaf
- nutmeg, grated
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
- For tomato paste:
- 400 g canned peeled tomatoes
- 50 g tomato paste
- oregano
- sugar
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
- For béchamel sauce:
- 1 litre milk
- 100 g butter
- 7 tbsp flour
- 2 eggs
- nutmeg, grated
- Prepare béchamel sauce: in a saucepan melt the butter over low heat. While stirring with a whisk gradually add flour. Stirring constantly fry slightly and slowly pour in milk. Then add eggs one at a time and nutmeg. With a whisk bring to a creamy consistency and remove from heat.
- Mix the tomatoes with a blender. Add salt, pepper, oregano, tomato paste, sugar and mix well.
- In a deep-frying pan over medium heat fry the onions in butter until golden brown. Add minced beef and fry evenly. Add tomato paste, cinnamon, bay leaf, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Simmer the minced meat over the low heat until cooked (until all the liquid has evaporated). Remove bay leaf from the cooked meat.
- Peel the aubergine and cut along ½ cm slices. Salt and fry in vegetable oil until golden on both sides. Put on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Repeat the same process with potatoes.
- Heat the oven to 180°C. Prepare a deep roasting tin: grease it with butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Put a layer of potatoes, then a layer of aubergines, a layer of minced meat and pour everything with bechamel sauce. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs on top and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.