Today we will prepare a world-famous dish – a casserole with minced meat, eggplants, and béchamel sauce. This is Greek moussaka, which will delight you with its rich flavor and heartiness.
Ingredients:
minced meat (beef) - 500 g
eggplants - 2 pcs. (550 g)
potatoes - 5-7 pcs.
onion - 1 pc.
garlic - 2 cloves
salt - to taste
black ground pepper - to taste
ground cinnamon - 1/3 tsp.
tomato paste - 1 tbsp.
canned tomatoes - 400 g
sugar - 1 tsp.
dried oregano - 1/2 tsp.
butter - 1 tsp.
vegetable oil - for frying
Béchamel Sauce:
butter - 30 g
flour - 3 tbsp.
milk - 500 ml
salt - to taste
ground nutmeg - 1/3 tsp.
eggs - 2 pcs.
cheese (Parmesan) - 60 g
Preparation:
1. Let’s start with the eggplants. Remove the stems and cut them into slices about 1 cm thick. If you have a large eggplant, one is enough; otherwise, use two medium ones. All vegetables for the casserole need to be fried, but it’s better to bake the eggplants since they absorb a lot of oil.
2. Grease a baking sheet with oil, lay out the eggplant slices, sprinkle with salt, black ground pepper, and dried oregano, then drizzle with olive oil. Use a brush to evenly distribute the spices and place in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for half an hour.
3. Meanwhile, let’s prepare the meat sauce. Dice one large onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Pour a little vegetable oil into a frying pan, add the onion, and sauté for a minute, then add the garlic and fry for another minute. After that, add the minced meat. This recipe uses beef mince, but traditionally moussaka is made with lamb.
4. Fry the minced meat over moderate heat for 5-7 minutes, constantly stirring and breaking it up with a spatula. Then add salt and black ground pepper to taste, as well as 1/3 tsp. of ground cinnamon. Mix and add 1 tbsp. of tomato paste, frying it a little for a more vibrant sauce flavor.
5. Next, pour in 400 g of canned tomatoes. Use diced tomatoes. Mix and add 1 tsp. of sugar to balance the flavor. Stir again, cover, and simmer on low heat for 25-30 minutes.
6. By this time, the eggplants are ready. Remove them from the oven and set aside. Prepare the potatoes by slicing them into 0.5 cm thick rounds and frying them on both sides until lightly golden. There’s no need to cook them all the way through. Transfer the potatoes to paper towels to absorb excess oil.
7. I prefer to fry in a mixture of vegetable and butter, as it gives the potatoes a delicate creamy flavor. Now let’s prepare the béchamel sauce. In a saucepan, melt a small piece of butter and add 3 tbsp. of flour. Stirring vigorously, sauté the flour over low heat for 30 seconds, then gradually pour in 500 ml of milk.
8. Increase the heat and bring the milk to a boil. Add salt to taste and 1/3 tsp. of ground nutmeg. Stir and cook the sauce until thickened for 2-3 minutes.
9. Turn off the heat, break 2 eggs into the sauce, mix, and add 60 g of cheese. I have Parmesan, but mozzarella will also work. The béchamel sauce is ready. At this time, the meat sauce is also ready, so we can start assembling the dish.
10. In a baking dish, layer the potatoes first, then evenly distribute the meat sauce and place the baked eggplants on top. Pour the béchamel sauce over everything and lightly sprinkle with cheese to create a beautiful golden crust. Place the moussaka in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.
After baking, remove the dish from the oven and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Cut into portions and serve, garnished with a sprig of fresh parsley. This is a hearty, delicious, and aromatic dish!
Source: mediasole
