Greek moussaka with eggplant, potatoes and minced meat

26.11.2018 Country kitchen

Musaka is a traditional puff casserole of eggplant, potatoes and meat, which is widespread in the Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East. Often, moussaka is presented as the hallmark of Greek national cuisine, although it is also prepared in many other countries. There are several variations of this dish, but we will focus on the Greek moussaka recipe, which is prepared from eggplant, potatoes and minced meat. The cooking process will be accompanied by step by step photos.

The dish has a rich taste and mouth-watering aroma, and on satiety can be compared with a full dinner.

Ingredients:

For meat filling:

ground beef - 500-600 g;
red tomatoes - 2 pcs. (about 200 g);
onions - 1 large onion;
olive oil - 2 tbsp. l .;
dry white wine - 70 ml (optional);
salt - 0.5 tsp;
sugar - a pinch (if necessary);
ground black pepper, oregano, sweet paprika, thyme, basil, dried dill - to taste;
fresh garlic - 1-2 cloves.

For vegetable toppings:

eggplant - 1 large or 2 small;
potatoes - 2 medium tubers;
salt - a pinch + for filling eggplant;
vegetable oil - for frying.

For white sauce:

pasteurized cow's milk - 125 ml;
butter - 40 g;
small egg (category C-2) - 1 pc.;
hard cheese - 50 g;
wheat flour - 1 tbsp. l .;
salt, ground pepper - to taste;
ground nutmeg - a pinch.

To sprinkle on top:

hard cheese - 70 g.

How to cook moussaka in Greek

Traditional Greek Moussaka consists of 3 parts: meat filling, fried vegetables and bechamel sauce. These 3 culinary processes can be done alternately or in parallel with each other (with the second option you can save time).

The meat layer of moussaki is prepared longer than the others; it reminds one of the famous Italian Bolognese sauce. To prepare this layer in Greece and the Middle East, lamb is most often used, which can be replaced with beef. Less commonly used mixed, pork and beef, minced meat.

Peel and chop the onion into small cubes.

Fry until transparent and a light golden hue, using vegetable (preferably olive) oil.

Add minced meat to the fried onion, mix.

Cook over medium heat, stirring and breaking the lumps of minced meat with a spatula.

Simultaneously with the roasting of minced meat, prepare tomato puree. To do this, blanch (hold for 2 minutes in boiling water) tomatoes, cool under a tap, remove the skin. Coarsely chopped blanched tomatoes and place in a blender.

Interrupt until smooth, wipe through a sieve (optional).

Advice!

Instead of fresh tomatoes in the autumn and winter, you can use tomato paste or tomatoes canned in their own juice.

Pour the tomato into a skillet for meat, mix. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Meanwhile, cut the eggplant and peeled potatoes into thin slices.

Put the “little blue ones” into a deep bowl and sprinkle with salt. For now, set them aside so that they let out the juice with which bitterness will go away.

And put the potatoes in hot oil and fry until golden brown over medium-high heat. Put the finished potato slices on thick napkins so that excess oil is absorbed into the paper.

While the potatoes are fried and the meat is languishing, grate the cheese on a coarse grater.The classic Moussaki recipe uses parmesan, but it can be replaced with another variety of hard cheese.

When all the potatoes are fried, return to the eggplant. Drain the brown juice released from them, rinse thoroughly with salt. Fry until golden brown in vegetable oil. When ready, get wet from the oil with napkins.