Are you a real foodie? Do you love experimenting in the kitchen? Love to try national dishes of different cuisines of the world. Then you will definitely like the dish - eggplant moussaka. Moussaka in Greek is a common dish in the Balkan and Mediterranean countries, which is a type of casserole prepared with vegetables and meat. This dish is prepared in different ways everywhere, while in any case it always turns out to be tasty. In addition to its great taste, the dish is very healthy, which was a serious reason to cook moussaka with eggplant and minced meat today. Nutritionists around the world advise baking food for health benefits, and therefore Greek moussaka should be included in the diet more often.
The mysteriousness of the Greek moussaka dish is as follows:

1. First, there are many recipes for cooking Greek casseroles, sometimes radically different from each other.
2. Second, the history of the origin of the food is not known for certain to anyone, and no one will say with certainty exactly how it appeared, and accordingly, no one knows the true recipe.

It is a three-layer casserole moussaka, where the bottom layer is eggplant, the middle one is meat with tomatoes, the top one is béchamel sauce. I talked about the latter in an article on its flavor and national dishes. It was not by chance that this sauce appeared in this dish, it gives it the necessary juiciness and aroma.

The Arab population use cold moussaka. Romanians and Serbs are replacing eggplants with tomatoes. In Moldovan cuisine, vegetables are the main part, so potatoes and zucchini are added to it. But the main feature of the dish is that in all cases the products are placed in a refractory container and baked together for about an hour under a white, milk sauce.
Lamb is used as the main, most satisfying component, however, veal and other types of meat are suitable. Mandatory vegetables - tomatoes, onions and eggplants, can sometimes be supplemented with potatoes, zucchini, cabbage or mushrooms. Well, and of course, you can't spare spices. They must certainly be part of the dish, making its taste unrivaled!

Moussaka in Greek with eggplant and minced meat, recipe with step by step photos

Ingredients:

Eggplant - 2 pieces
Veal - 300-400 g
Tomatoes - 1-2 pieces depending on the size
Onions - 1 piece
Eggs - 1 piece
Flour - 2 tablespoons
Milk - 500 ml
Butter - 50 g
Hard cheese - 150 g
Dry white wine - 200 ml
Salt and ground pepper to taste
Vegetable oil - for frying
Garlic - 2 cloves
Spices and spices (dried basil, nutmeg, ground sweet paprika, a mixture of Provencal herbs, coriander, etc.) - to taste

The whole process of making Greek moussaka consists of four main steps:

1. Eggplant preparation.
2. Cooking minced meat.
3. Cooking béchamel sauce.
4. Shaping and baking dishes.

Stage I. Preparing the eggplant.

1. In order to cook moussaka with eggplants and minced meat, you first need to prepare the eggplants, namely, remove the characteristic bitterness from these fruits, so as not to spoil the taste of the dish. But if you have young fruits, or have just ripened on your site, then this does not need to be done at all, since usually there is no bitterness in them. If you bought eggplant in a store and you cannot determine for sure whether bitterness is present in vegetables. Either you know that the vegetable is old and therefore probably contains bitterness (i.e. solanine), then it can be removed with salt. To do this, sprinkle the fruits with salt and soak for up to half an hour, then rinse with water. Now you can start cutting vegetables.

Cut the eggplants into long tongues 5 mm thick.

2. In a frying pan with vegetable oil, fry the eggplants on both sides until golden brown. At the same time, keep in mind that the vegetable will absorb a lot of liquids. If you do not want this, then bake the "tongues" in the oven. The dish will benefit even more from this in terms of usefulness.

Stage II. Cooking minced meat for Greek veal moussaka.

3. In another frying pan, save the onions cut into half rings until transparent. Let me remind you that you need to sauté the onion over low heat, and so that it does not burn, you need to stir it often. I have it more reddened than necessary, as it was a little distracted and did not stir it in time.

4. Free the veal from the films, twist it into minced meat in a meat grinder and put it in a heated frying pan with hot oil.

5. Fry the meat over high heat until medium golden and add to it in a frying pan sautéed onion, diced tomato, chopped garlic, salt, pepper and all the spices.

6. Mix the food, pour the wine, bring to a boil and let the stove simmer the dish under the lid over low heat for about 15 minutes.

Stage III. Preparing béchamel sauce for pouring Greek casseroles.

7. While our minced meat is stewed and saturated with all the spices, let's start making béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a frying pan.

8. Add wheat flour, mix well and heat the food so that the flour completely absorbs the oil.

9. Pour milk into a frying pan and heat it to a boil.

10. Beat in an egg and place 1/3 of the grated cheese.

11. Salt and pepper, mix until smooth and heat the mixture for 3 minutes.

Stage IV. Forming Greek moussaka in a fireproof mold and baking. Turn on the oven to heat up to 180 ° C.

12. When all the ingredients are ready, start assembling the dish. Put the eggplant tongues tightly into the mold so that there are no empty gaps. For this, you can lay the fried eggplant plates a little overlap. By the way, a rectangular shape is better for baking than a round one. Since the eggplant "tongues" fit into it easier and fit more compactly.

13. Top with minced meat saturated with spicy aromas.

14. Cover the meat with the remaining eggplant tongues.

15. Pour the dish with béchamel sauce.

16. But that's not all, as the last chord - sprinkle the casserole with the remaining grated cheese and send it to bake in a well-heated oven for half an hour.

17. The Greek dish moussaka is ready, it baked beautifully and returned to our table from the oven with a ruddy, cheese crust and won us over with its awesome aroma. Therefore, despite the fact that the dish is allowed to be served cold, we did not become like the Arabs, and immediately tasted it with the whole family. It turns out moussaka is very juicy, nutritious and incredibly tasty! The food is usually served hot, but you can also use it as a cold snack.

Now you know how to make Eggplant and Minced Meat Moussaka, a delicious and satisfying Greek casserole for the whole family. If you have your own vegetables from the garden for the dish, then you just have to buy a piece of good meat and embody the Greek culinary creation in your kitchen.

Is a traditional eggplant dish in the Balkans and the Middle East. It is believed that it appeared a very long time ago. The 13th century Arabic cookbook contains the Magum dish, the recipe for which strikingly resembles the classic moussaka recipe. Moussaka recipes differ from each other depending on which country it is prepared in.

Consists of baked layers of lamb, eggplant, tomato and white sauce. In Arab countries, it is a cold tomato and eggplant salad, similar to Italian caponata. In Serbian, Bosnian and Romanian cuisines, it can be cooked with tomatoes instead of eggplant.

The original three-layer consists of a bottom layer of eggplant with olive oil, a middle layer of lamb with tomatoes and a top layer of béchamel sauce. Sometimes zucchini, potatoes or mushrooms are added to moussaka.

In Moldovan cuisine, it is a meat dish, half of which, and sometimes more, is vegetables. Completely vegetable, vegetarian moussaks are also possible.

The peculiarity of making moussaka is that all products are put into it at the same time, and then stewed for one hour.

The meat for moussaka is mutton, but maybe also veal. The main and obligatory vegetables are onions, eggplants, tomatoes. Usually in moussaka, along with the main ones, there is one of the replaceable vegetables (cabbage, potatoes, zucchini). Spices for moussaka - garlic, bay leaves, black or red pepper, dill and parsley; fats - sunflower oil and sour cream.

The meat is cut into pieces, as for goulash, and lightly beaten. Vegetables are cut into circles, and cabbage is cut into strips. On the bottom of a wide and shallow saucepan, greased with butter, put a layer of eggplant, then a layer of onions, tomatoes, zucchini, on them - a layer of meat. Then the layers are repeated.

Sprinkle with spices every 2-3 layers. Especially flavored with the meat layer in the middle, as well as the top vegetable layer. Top moussaka is poured with sunflower oil and sour cream. Moussaka is kept in the oven for 1 hour. Sprinkle with herbs. Served hot, with the sauce in which it was cooked.

Many peoples adopted Moussaka from the Greeks and adapted it to their taste. The famous Bulgarian moussaka - a simpler, faster and more economical dish - also turns out to be more satisfying because potatoes, cabbage, zucchini and sour cream are added to it. In Turkish moussaka, eggplant is replaced with zucchini or pumpkin, and peas are also added. Moldovan moussaka includes corn and eggs, Croatian - mushrooms and noodles.

Original Greek Moussaka RECIPE 1

The original three-layer consists of a bottom layer of eggplant with olive oil, a middle layer of lamb with tomatoes and a top layer of béchamel sauce. Sometimes zucchini, potatoes or mushrooms are added to moussaka. Each region of Greece has its own. But in any of them you will find fresh vegetables, cheese and minced meat. The best cheese for moussaka is undeniably Greek kefalothiri. But in principle, another one, the same Parmesan, will do. According to Greek canons, moussaka should be served with feta cheese, green salad, such as romano, large-grain bread and, of course, with Greek red wine.

For 4 servings you will need:

- 1 large eggplant
- 2 small zucchini
- 3-4 tomatoes
- 600-800 g potatoes
- 300 ml of olive oil
- 600 g of prepared minced meat (beef or lamb)
- 300 g grated cheese

for béchamel sauce:

- 100 g flour
- 100 g butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 liter of milk
- a pinch of grated nutmeg

Preparation:

Peel the eggplant by cutting off the top and bottom. Place the resulting "column" vertically on the work surface and cut into thin slices lengthwise. Transfer the eggplant strips to a separate bowl and leave.

Peel and chop the zucchini in the same way, set aside. If you use young zucchini, then you do not need to cut the skin off. Cut the potatoes into thin slices and place in a separate bowl.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Fry the potato slices, then in the same oil - the zucchini and last of all - the eggplant. Put vegetables in a pan in one layer and fry on both sides. Potatoes about 10 minutes, zucchini and eggplant 7-8 minutes.

As you fry the vegetables, alternately discard the vegetables in a colander or on a paper towel to drain off excess oil. Do this carefully, keeping the shape of the cut vegetables. Transfer each type of vegetables to a separate bowl and let dry.

Form moussaka - Place prepared vegetables and meat in a baking dish. The first layer is potato slices, lightly salt and pepper to taste. Then grated cheese, a layer of minced meat on top, which must be leveled with a spatula.
The second vegetable layer of moussaka is slices of eggplant, which must be seasoned with salt and pepper, sprinkled with cheese, but do not add the minced meat so that the moussaka does not "sink" during baking.

Lastly, put a layer of zucchini in a mold, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with cheese and cover with the remaining minced meat, leveling it with a spatula.

Wash the tomatoes, dry, cut into thin slices and place in a single layer on top of the minced meat. Sprinkle with cheese on top.

Cooking béchamel sauce.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, adding flour, stirring constantly. Beat lightly with a whisk until creamy, so that there are no lumps. Continuing to beat, pour milk into a saucepan, salt and pepper to taste.
Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl and add to the saucepan, whisking the sauce continuously. When the little funnels appear in the sauce, it's ready. Season the sauce lightly with salt, pepper and grated nutmeg.

Pour the sauce over the contents of the form with vegetables and minced meat, smooth the surface well with a spatula. Sprinkle lightly with the remaining cheese. Bake in a preheated oven to 180 degrees, 15-20 minutes until golden brown. // based on materials from the magazine Gastronom

Original Greek Moussaka RECIPE 2

Required:

lamb (or beef) - 250 g
eggplant - 500 g
tomatoes - 200 g
onion - 1 onion
vegetable oil
cinnamon, salt - to taste

For the sauce:

butter - 30 g
flour - 30 g
milk - 300 ml
grated hard cheese - 1 tbsp. l. with top
egg (yolk) - 1 pc

You also need another 1 tbsp. grated cheese and 1-2 tbsp. breadcrumbs to sprinkle with moussaka on top.

To bake moussaka, you need a baking sheet with high edges, preferably with a non-stick (Teflon) coating. It is better to choose a baking sheet prettier if you have a choice, because in it you will have to serve moussaka on the table. In addition, take 3 pans.

First, you should prepare the eggplants, because while roasting them, you can cook the rest of the moussaka.
Cut the eggplants into rings, salt and fry them in vegetable oil until tender (i.e. soft and golden brown). It is better to choose a heavy pan with a thick bottom.

While the eggplant is fried, chop the onion and lightly fry it in vegetable oil in another deep skillet. Then add the meat (cut into small pieces) to the onion and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes, salt to taste and cinnamon on the tip of a knife to the meat with onions. Put out another 20 minutes.

By this time, the eggplants should already be ready for you. Place them in a colander and drain off any excess oil. To speed up the process, you can gently press down on top with something heavy.

Heat the third skillet (it should also be deep enough) and put the flour there, fry until golden brown over high heat, then reduce the heat and gently add the butter there, stirring occasionally. After that, gradually pour milk into the pan, stirring constantly, and turn the heat back on. After a few minutes (constantly stir the milk mass at this time!), The milk will begin to thicken thanks to the flour. This means the sauce is ready. Remove the pan from heat, put the yolk there, 1 tbsp. cheese and stir.

Take a baking sheet, lay on it in layers: half of the eggplant, meat, the other half of the eggplant, sauce, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and cheese.
Bake in the oven at medium temperature for another 20 minutes (the top surface should be thick and golden).

If you don't have eggplants, you can replace them with potatoes or zucchini, but I advise you to add more spices to the meat. And when stewing meat, you can add a little wine.

It is made from lamb, but it can be replaced with beef (it is better not to take veal or pork).

You can serve moussaka in clay pots, as is done in Cyprus and the island part of Greece, or it can be served directly on a baking sheet.

Original Greek Moussaka RECIPE 3

Olive oil - 5 tablespoons
Onion - 1 head
Garlic - 3 cloves
Cumin (cumin) seeds - 1 teaspoon
Tomato puree - 1 tablespoon
Minced mutton - 500 g
Dry red wine - 200 ml
Cinnamon sticks - 1 piece
Tomatoes in their own juice - 400 g
Cane sugar - 1 pinch
Dried oregano - 1 teaspoon
Eggplant - 3 pieces
Butter - 75 g
Wheat flour - 75 g
Milk - 600 ml
Egg yolk - 1 piece
Grated Parmesan cheese - 75 g
Ground nutmeg - 1 pinch

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add finely chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes until tender. Add chopped garlic and cumin and cook for another 1 minute. Increase heat, add minced meat, salt and pepper and fry for 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove excess fat.

3. Add wine and cinnamon, cook for 2-3 minutes, then add tomatoes, tomato puree, 100 ml water, sugar and oregano. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for 45 minutes, until thickened. Salt.

4. Meanwhile, preheat the grill. Slice the eggplants lengthwise and brush with the remaining oil. Season with salt and fry on both sides until golden brown. Place on a paper towel.

5. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and stir well. Remove from heat and whisk slowly in the milk. Put on low heat and simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the yolk and half of the cheese. Season with salt to taste.

6. Place a layer of eggplant on the bottom of an oiled refractory round dish, then a layer of minced meat and pour over the sauce, repeat layers. Top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese and nutmeg.

7. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Serve with a green salad.

Original Greek Moussaka RECIPE 4

Ingredients:

1 small eggplant
4 medium potato tubers
1 tomato
100 g grated carrots
1/2 small onion
250 g minced meat (turkey)
50 ml milk (for minced meat)
150 g cheese
5 g cinnamon
salt to taste
olive oil

For milk sauce:

300 g milk
1 tbsp. l. flour
1 egg
salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Preparation of vegetables and minced meat. In different pans, fry the eggplants and potatoes cut into rings until golden brown. In another dish - grated carrots and finely chopped onions. After a few minutes, mix carrots and onions with minced meat. We give the minced meat to fry, and add a little milk and tomato slices. During cooking, minced meat must be divided into small lumps with a spatula in order to make it more crumbly. Do not forget to salt each ingredient. To add exotic flavor, you can add cinnamon to the minced meat.

According to the classic recipe, moussaka is made from lamb, but there are many different variations in the use of one or another meat. Tender turkey meat is almost perfect for this dish.

2. Sauce. The sauce is prepared quite quickly: all the ingredients are mixed and whisked together. Béchamel sauce, traditionally used to make moussaka, takes a little longer and more painstaking preparation. Milk and egg mass mixed with flour does not differ much from it in taste.

3. Layers. For baking, a baking dish or any fireproof dish will work. In moussaka, vegetables, minced meat, cheese are laid out in layers and you can lay them out in any order. If you start with eggplant, they will become soft and tender and have a mushroom flavor. Then you can put potatoes. The middle layer is usually minced. After minced meat, again eggplants and the final layer of potatoes. Sprinkle with grated cheese on top.

4. Baking. You need to bake the dish at a temperature of 200-220 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the milk sauce thickens and a bright amber crust appears.

It turns out very well if, before baking, fry all the vegetables and minced meat until fully cooked and salt everything well. Roasted vegetables and meats give the dish a richer flavor.

Original Greek Moussaka RECIPE 5

Lamb is used to prepare traditional Greek moussaka. A serving for 6-8 people requires 800 grams of meat. It needs to be cut into pieces or chopped. If the lamb is sliced, it should be beaten off. Onions, carrots and peppers (diced) cut into rings are placed in a deep frying pan. For 800 grams of minced meat, two medium onions and one carrot are enough. All this is fried in oil until the pepper becomes soft. Then add 4 tablespoons of tomato paste, half a glass of meat broth, half a glass of dry white wine, herbs, salt and a little cinnamon. All this must be mixed and simmered over a fire until the liquid completely evaporates. Then beat the egg into the minced meat and mix.

Now you can proceed to the preparation of the second component of moussaka. Long eggplants should be washed and cut lengthwise into 7mm plates. For 800 grams of meat, you need the same amount of eggplant. Sliced ​​eggplants must first be sprinkled with salt and put under a press for 20 minutes. Then blot them from the juice and fry in a pan with the addition of oil.

Then you need to prepare the béchamel sauce. To do this, you need milk, flour, butter and spices. First you need to boil milk with finely chopped onions, herbs, a pinch of nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste. Boil the mixture in a small saucepan or deep skillet over low heat to prevent the sauce from burning. When it boils, it must be removed from the heat, covered and left to cool for half an hour. Then it must be passed through a sieve to make it homogeneous. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter, add flour, mix quickly, achieving a slightly golden color of the resulting mixture. Then remove from heat and gradually pour in milk, thoroughly kneading the sauce. After that, the resulting mixture must be brought to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Musaka is a traditional dish prepared by the people of the Balkans and the Middle East. It is a casserole of thin slices of eggplant, which are sandwiched with minced meat (usually lamb), tomatoes and vegetables. Moussaka recipes can be varied, the composition of the products in them and the sequence of preparation depend on the country in which the dish is prepared. For example, minced meat. It may not be lamb, but veal, or even be absent altogether - then the moussaka will be vegetable. Some peoples put potatoes with bell peppers and other vegetables in moussaka, while others, in addition to tomatoes, use sour cream and eggs.

One thing remains unchanged for all recipes - it is the presence of eggplant in the casserole. Another feature of moussaka is that all products are put into the dish at the same time and stewed for about an hour. The main and obligatory vegetables, besides eggplant, are onions and tomatoes. As a rule, in addition to them, the dish contains at least one more vegetable in the form of cabbage (white or cauliflower), potatoes, zucchini, green peas. Musaka is usually seasoned with various spices - garlic, bay leaves, black or red pepper, dill and parsley; as well as fats - sunflower oil and sour cream.

The principle of making moussaka is also common to most recipes - meat is used as minced meat, vegetables are cut into slices, and cabbage is cut into strips. Then in a wide and shallow saucepan, greased with butter, lay the eggplants, onions, tomatoes, zucchini or potatoes (or other vegetables used) in layers, and on top - the meat. Sprinkled with herbs, the moussaka is baked in the oven and then served hot.

Moussaka - food preparation

The main product for moussaka is eggplant. They are usually washed, cut into slices about 5 mm thick, and sprinkled with salt so that their characteristic bitterness comes out of the eggplants along with the juice.

Another important component of moussaka, unless it is vegetarian, is meat, most often lamb. Meat for moussaka is used in minced meat, for which the prepared meat pulp is washed, the film is released and twisted in a meat grinder.

The rest of the moussaka components, vegetables (onions with carrots, bell peppers, etc.) are peeled and cut according to the recipe, usually in rings or circles.

Moussaka - the best recipes

Recipe 1: Moussaka in Greek

As you know, moussaka is prepared by folding food into a mold and stewing them together. Imagine how fragrant and tasty the dish will turn out, for the preparation of which young lamb with eggplants, tomatoes, onions, garlic and spices will be stewed in layers in a high baking sheet! This is a real dish for a family dinner or lunch, which will surely be appreciated by all your household.

Ingredients:

1 kg of lamb pulp;
3 eggplants;
5 medium tomatoes;
1 large onion
3 tbsp. l. olive oil;
3 cloves of garlic;
4 fresh mint leaves;
2 bay leaves;
0.5 tsp. coriander with ground cloves;
nutmeg (ground) on the tip of a knife;
0.5 cups of dry white wine;
100 g flour;
salt and pepper to taste;

for the top:

0.5 cups grated Parmesan cheese;
100 g flour;
300 gr. milk;
50 gr. butter:
a few sprigs of parsley.

Cooking method:

1. After washing the lamb and cutting it into small pieces, we pass the meat through a meat grinder.

2. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic, wash the tomatoes and cut them into cubes. After heating the olive oil in a frying pan, fry the onion on it, add the minced meat after 5-7 minutes, mix well and fry for about 10 minutes more. Then add the tomatoes with garlic, mint, bay leaf, cloves, coriander, nutmeg, salt, pepper and simmer for about 15 minutes. Then, pouring in the wine and mixing everything, bring to a boil. Then, after removing the excess liquid from the heat and draining, cover with a lid.

3. Having peeled the eggplants, cut them into circles, the thickness of which should be about 1 cm. Then put them in a bowl in layers and sprinkle with salt, leave for 15 minutes. Then drain the juice that will stand out from the eggplants, rinse them with water and dry with paper towel.

4. After heating the olive oil in a frying pan, fry the eggplant circles in it, dipping each in the sifted flour. Roasting time on each side is about 1 minute. After frying, place the circles on a paper towel so that it absorbs the excess fat.

5. Put the fried eggplants in a deep refractory form, put half of the prepared minced meat on them, on top of the minced meat - the second layer of eggplants. Cover it with another layer of minced meat on top and level the surface.

6. Wash the parsley and chop it finely. After heating butter in a saucepan, add flour there and cook for about 5 minutes with constant stirring.

7. Warm the milk slightly, drive in the eggs and mix thoroughly. Add this mixture to a saucepan and cook for about 5 minutes with constant stirring. Then add the grated parmesan with herbs, stir and remove from heat. We grease the surface of the moussaka with the resulting sauce.

8. We bake the moussaka for about half an hour in a well-preheated oven and serve it directly in the form in which it was cooked, dividing it into portions.

Recipe 2: Vegetarian Moussaka

There are also many gourmets among the adherents of vegetarianism. And they will surely appreciate this moussaka recipe, in which potatoes are cooked in layers with onions, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes and garlic. The dish turns out to be very tasty and aromatic.

Ingredients:

5 potatoes;
2 medium onions;
1 large carrot;
1 large bell pepper;
2 medium eggplants;
4 tomatoes;
2 cloves of garlic;
olive oil;
salt and pepper to taste;
dry Mediterranean herbs;
optional bay leaf with allspice.

Cooking method:

1. Cut the eggplants into slices and sprinkle abundantly with salt, let them stand to drain the juice, which then needs to be washed off with cold water.

2. Peel the potatoes, cut them into the same circles as the eggplants, and spread them in an even layer in a greased pan with a thick bottom, greased with olive oil. Salt it, pepper and sprinkle with olive oil.

3. Cut the onion into thin rings, spread it in an even layer on the potatoes, salt and pepper.

4. Peel the carrots and cut into circles, put them on the onions and also salt and pepper, sprinkle with olive oil.

5. Peel the bell pepper and cut into rings, salt and pepper, sprinkle with olive oil.

6. Finely chop the greens, chop the garlic.

6. Next, having laid out the eggplants, salt and pepper them, sprinkle with oil. And finally, with the last layer, lay out the tomatoes, cut into thin slices. Add 100 ml of water to a saucepan and put it on low heat. When about 5 minutes remain until the end of cooking, add the herbs and garlic.

Recipe 3: Greek Moussaka with Ground Beef and Potatoes

Another recipe for moussaka, but it contains potatoes, which, in combination with meat and vegetables, makes a very tasty and satisfying dish.

Ingredients:

0.5 kg of minced beef;
3 potatoes;
2 eggplants;
1 onion;
2 cloves of garlic;
200 gr. cheese;
2 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
400 gr. cream;
2 tbsp. l. flour;
salt to taste.

Cooking method:

1. After peeling the onion, chop it finely and lightly fry in vegetable oil with chopped garlic. Then add minced meat there and continue to fry for about 5 minutes more, at the end of frying add tomato paste.

2. Cut the eggplants into slices, salt and let them stand, so that the bitterness leaves them with the juice released.

3. Peel and boil the potatoes in salted water, then cool, cut into slices.

4. Fry the flour in a frying pan, add cream to it, salt and bring to a boil.

5. Spread the layers of minced meat, eggplant, potatoes on a baking sheet, then pour them with creamy sauce and sprinkle with cheese on top, bake the moussaka in the oven to form a golden brown crust. Serve warm.

It is believed that olive oil is best for making moussaka, however, you can also use sunflower or corn oil.

Moussaka is a dish that must be juicy and well-baked at the same time. Therefore, for those who like to cook in the microwave, this advice: in this case, we do not fry the eggplants, cutting them into circles, but cut them in half, bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes and cut them into thin plates, which we use when preparing the dish. This will keep more juice in the eggplants.

Moussaka is usually served hot, but it can also be used as a cold snack. Then it is good to supplement it with thick tomato sauce, which can be prepared by whisking tomatoes, peeled and seeds, herbs, garlic and vegetable oil.

Moussaka is a popular Greek dish. The dish is rich in calories and incredibly tasty, served in every Greek restaurant.

Moussaka is a casserole made from vegetables, especially eggplant, and meat with béchamel sauce. The recipe for moussaka is known in the cuisine of many countries, but Greek moussaka is the tastiest.

There are many varieties of eggplant and meat casseroles, and there is always room for your own culinary and taste preferences. After all, a wonderful Greek cap of French béchamel sauce was added to the moussaka - and the taste of the dish only won! With traditional Greek yogurt instead of sauce, moussaka is just as great.

Homemade moussaka recipe

The recipe includes the main ingredients of Greek moussaka (eggplant, meat, bechamel, cheese) with a little improvisation (no nutmeg, but there are sun-dried tomatoes). The classic recipe is presented at the end of the page.

Ingredients

• eggplant - 1 kg
• bow - 2
• minced beef (lamb) - 500 grams
• tomatoes - 3 medium
• sun-dried tomatoes - 4-5 pcs.
• dry red wine - 150 ml
• cheese - 100 grams
• butter - 70 grams
• milk - 1 glass
• flour - 1.5 tbsp. spoons
• spices, salt, pepper, olive oil

How to make moussaka

Eggplant for moussaka.
The basis of moussaka is layers of eggplant, due to which the appetizer keeps its shape when served in portions. For perfect serving, take young fruits without ripe seeds.

To peel or not peel moussaka eggplant?
In a traditional dish, vegetables are used along with the skin, but you can also peel them completely or remove them in strips. When baked, the skin will become soft and hardly noticeable in the dish. If you decide to leave, then choose eggplants without dark spots.

How to cut?
The shape of the slicing does not play a big role - cut lengthwise, getting plates, or crosswise into circles. The main thing is that the pieces of eggplant fit well into the mold, leaving no empty spaces between them. Take this into account when choosing a cutting shape. The thickness of the pieces is 0.5-1 cm.



Then the eggplants should be thermally processed.
How? They can be blanched, baked in the oven, fried in a pan (grill pan).

If baking or frying, place the sliced ​​eggplants in a bowl, add salt and leave for 20 minutes to release the bitterness. Rinse under running water and pat dry. Then fry with a little oil. It is worth remembering that when frying, eggplants draw in a lot of oil, and when they are ready, they give the oil back. Knowing this, use a minimum of fat - just to grease the bottom of the pan, and then fold the eggplants on a sieve to drain the oil.

To bake in the oven, brush the eggplant slices with olive oil on both sides.



Minced meat for moussaka.
Fry the minced beef in olive oil. Stir and break the lumps all the time.



Peel and chop the onion. Cut the tomatoes in half and grate the pulp on a coarse grater, discard the skin. Add onions and tomatoes to the minced meat.



Stir and continue cooking for 5-7 minutes. Then pour in the wine. Which wine is best? Opinions differ on this point, choose according to your taste - red, white, or even brandy.



Add spices to the minced meat: bay leaf, oregano, allspice, cinnamon, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest, chili with flakes - to your taste.

Reduce the heat to small and evaporate the liquid, bringing the minced meat to readiness and not forgetting to stir from time to time. The finished minced meat should be dryish, and the liquid must be completely evaporated.



Make the béchamel sauce.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour, a whisk will do just fine. Aim for a thick roux (flour and milk base). Set the heat under the saucepan to minimum. Let the flour and butter almost boil.



Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour in the milk with constant stirring. Warm milk slightly before adding.



The sauce will change before your eyes: at first it will be liquid, and after a couple of minutes it will begin to turn into a thick, creamy consistency.



So, the base sauce is ready, but it can be supplemented with grated cheese or egg yolk, and seasoned with nutmeg.



When all the components of the moussaka are ready, you can start assembling. For this purpose, you will need a baking dish with sides.

Assembling and laying out.
First, form the bottom layer of eggplant, placing the largest pieces tightly together.



Sprinkle with grated cheese.



The next layer consists of minced meat.



Cover the minced meat with a layer of eggplant. If the shape and quantity of products allows, then the styling can be increased by a couple of layers. The last layer is necessarily eggplants - they are sprinkled with cheese and poured with béchamel sauce.



Sprinkle cheese over the top.



Cover the tin with foil. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 15 minutes. Then remove the foil and cook for another 15-20 minutes.



Moussaka serving.
Moussaka before serving should (if you have enough patience) to cool down: slightly warm or cold, it is perfectly cut into portioned pieces.

Other moussaka recipes. What Moussaka may include

Vegetables. Some recipes for Greek moussaka include potatoes, which must be prepared in the same way as courgettes (chopped and fried or baked). It is usually placed in the base of the casserole to stabilize the multi-layer structure. The presence of potatoes does not particularly affect the taste, but a high-calorie dish with potatoes becomes even more satisfying and more high-calorie.

Ground meat. Classic moussaka recipes use minced lamb or a mixture of minced lamb and beef, but if you like pork and beef, use it.

Sauce. For the base of the sauce, you can use not only wheat flour, but also corn flour (bechamel with corn flour is a pure improvisation, and it is very tasty and unusual).

You can make a portioned mini-moussaka: cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, carefully remove some of the pulp, and blanch the boat in salted water; fry the minced meat with the pulp removed, tomato slices, chopped onions and seasonings; put the minced meat in the boat, pour the sauce on top (from yogurt or béchamel); fold into a mold, pour in some water and bake in the oven.

Classic Greek Moussaka Recipe

Perhaps this moussaka recipe should have started, since it is considered basic. Includes, in addition to eggplant, potatoes. Nutmeg is part of both minced meat and bechamel.

(for 7 people)

Ingredients

For the base

• 3 kg potatoes
• 2 kg eggplant
• 1/2 liter olive oil

For minced meat

• 850 grams ground beef
• 1 onion
• 2 fresh tomatoes
• 2 glasses of water
• salt and pepper
• 2/3 cup olive oil

For the béchamel sauce

• 5-6 tablespoons flour
• 250 grams of butter
• 400 grams of baked milk
• 800 grams of water - to dilute milk
• 40 grams of grated low-melting hard cheese
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg powder
• 2 tablespoons bread crumbs

How to make greek moussaka

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into long, 2 cm thick slices.

2. Wash the eggplants and cut them into 2 cm slices. Place the sliced ​​eggplants in salted water for 20 minutes to release the bitterness.

3. At medium temperature, fry the potatoes on both sides in olive oil, then the eggplants.

4. To cook minced meat, grate 2 tomatoes and chop the onion finely.

5. Fry the onion in a saucepan, add minced meat to it and fry it for 7 minutes.

6. Add grated tomatoes, salt, pepper, nutmeg to a saucepan and pour 2 cups of water.

7. Cook the minced meat for about 45 minutes - until all the liquid has evaporated.

8. Once the potatoes, eggplant and minced meat are done, start filling the baking sheet. Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom, and a layer of eggplant on top of it. Spread the minced meat on the eggplant. Put another layer of eggplant on top of the minced meat, and another layer of potatoes on top of the eggplant.

How to make bechamel with eggs

Dilute baked milk with water. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Once the butter has melted, add the flour to the pan - stirring the mixture constantly. Then add the nutmeg and egg yolks to the saucepan, then - very slowly - pour in the milk.

Turn up the heat. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the mixture comes to a boil.

An alternative way to make bechamel is to slowly add grated cheese, stir until the desired thickness. Then you don't need to sprinkle cheese on top of the casserole.

Pour the prepared béchamel sauce over the top potato layer and sprinkle with grated cheese and bread crumbs on top.

Preheat the oven and bake at 200 degrees Celsius for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the crust is browned.

Recipe with potatoes and zucchini

It is generally accepted that eggplants are a part of the moussaka. But this is not a feature of all cuisines. In Romania and Serbia, tomatoes are used instead of eggplant. And in Bulgaria, the moussaka recipe provides for the formation of layers of potatoes and minced meat.

Ingredients for the recipe: eggplant - 4 medium, zucchini - 3 medium, potatoes - 2 medium, bell peppers - 2, onions - 1, tomato - 4-5, garlic - 2 cloves, tomato paste - 1 tbsp. spoon, ground beef - 500 g, spices (cumin, nutmeg, salt, pepper, coriander, thyme, oregano), fresh parsley, olive oil, parmesan - 70 g, bread crumbs.

Cooking. Cut the eggplants and zucchini into slices, place in a colander and salt generously. Cover with a lid and press down with a weight to drain the liquid. Leave it on for 20 minutes. Then fry in olive oil until light brown. Remove excess oil with kitchen paper.

Boil the potatoes in their uniforms. Peel and cut into slices no more than 5 mm thick. Fry the finely chopped onion, chopped peppers (remove the seeds beforehand) until soft and slightly brown. Add 1 clove of garlic, squeezed through a press. Fry the ground beef in a skillet and season with spices, pepper and salt.

Make tomato sauce... Peel the tomatoes, cut into small pieces, mix with the pasta and 1 clove of garlic. Season to taste and simmer over low heat until thickened.
Combine bread crumbs with finely chopped parsley, finely grated cheese and spices.

Lay out in layers: first - a layer of potatoes, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, then a layer of minced meat, then a layer of eggplant, pour half of the tomato sauce and put the fried onions and peppers, sprinkle with breadcrumbs with herbs and cheese, then a layer of zucchini, pour the remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 180C for about 30 minutes. Cover with foil for the first 10 minutes. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Vegetarian moussaka without eggplant

Moussaka is a terribly high-calorie dish. And at the same time delicious. Those who don't eat meat will love the vegetarian casserole recipe. To be precise, this is a meatless moussaka, but with eggs and dairy products, that is, a moussaka for lacto-ovo vegetarians.

Ingredients for the recipe: carrots - 250 g, celery - 1 root (about 100 g), onions - 2, olive oil, potatoes - 5, green beans - 500 g, rice - 0.5 cups, eggs - 4, milk - 0.5 -0.75 cups.

Making mousaka for vegetarians

Chop or grate carrots and celery finely. Fry in oil until soft with finely chopped onions. Boil in uniforms, peel and coarsely grate potatoes. Cook the beans and rice separately. Cut the beans into small pieces. Lay in layers in a mold, starting with the potatoes.

Make a sauce with milk and eggs, salt and add your favorite spices. You can also make a classic béchamel. Pour over the vegetables (shake the mold a little so that the sauce reaches all the layers).
Bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees. Cut the cooled moussaka into squares or rectangular pieces. You can serve with sour cream.

Grind the meat into minced meat. Peel the onion. If the eggplants are bitter, cut them into slices or rings and dip them in salted water (1 tablespoon of salt per 1 liter of liquid) to get rid of the unpleasant aftertaste. After 15-20 minutes, remove and pat dry with a paper towel. Make cross-shaped cuts on the tomatoes, pour over with boiling water and immediately immerse them in cold water - this way the skin will easily separate from the pulp. Peel and cut into circles.

Sauce preparation: Melt butter in a preheated saucepan. Pour flour into the butter and fry it, stirring constantly, until slightly golden brown, carefully breaking the lumps. Pour in a little warmed milk. Continuing to stir constantly, bring the mass to a homogeneous consistency and thickening (the sauce should have the density of liquid sour cream). Remove from heat. Beat the eggs a little with a fork and gently add them to the sauce, trying to do it quickly so that they do not have time to curdle from the temperature. Grate the cheese. Stir it into the milk and egg mixture while warm to melt it. Season the mixture with nutmeg, salt to taste and mix well.

Fry the eggplant slices in a well-heated frying pan with vegetable oil until half cooked, half a minute on each side. Cut the onion into half rings, fry it until translucent and add minced meat to it. Fry the minced meat with onions for 5-7 minutes, season with your favorite herbs and pour in the wine. Simmer until the liquid evaporates. Season to taste. In a separate skillet, simmer the tomatoes slightly to release excess liquid that will interfere with the baking of the moussaka. Put some of the fried eggplants in a baking dish so that they tightly cover the bottom. Put the minced meat on top of the eggplants and evenly distribute. The next layer is laid out with tomato circles. All layers are repeated once more starting with the eggplant. Pour the creamy sauce evenly over the formed casserole and sprinkle with grated cheese on top. Moussaka is baked at a temperature of 200 degrees. Cooking time ranges from 30 to 45 minutes - it all depends on how quickly the liquid boils away. Therefore, the process should be controlled independently. The food should be baked, but not burnt.