Moussaka
Moussaka is a hearty dish perfect for a special occasion or a weeknight meal. It's made with layers of eggplant, potatoes, meat sauce, and bechamel sauce and baked until the crust is golden brown. Everyone at the dinner table will be blown away!
Servings: 8 Servings
Ingredients
Vegetables
- 3 eggplants
- 2 russet potatoes
- Olive oil for frying
- Salt and pepper to taste
Meat sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ yellow onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 14 ounce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Bechamel Sauce
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups milk, warmed
- 2 egg yolks
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅔ cup parmesan cheese, for assembly
- Fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
Prepare the vegetables
- Wash your eggplants and potatoes, slice them into ¼ inch rounds. Squeeze the eggplant dry with paper towels, remove any excess liquid.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the vegetables to the hot oil and fry them until they are just browned. Work in a couple batches to avoid crowding, adding more oil between batches.
- When the vegetables are removed from the oil, place them on paper towels to allow any excess oil to run off. Season the fried veggies with salt and pepper and set aside.
For the meat sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the ground beef and onion. Saute until the beef is thoroughly browned and cooked through. Add the garlic and saute another 2 minutes.
- To the saucepan add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, cinamon, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring everything to a gentile boil, mixing until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Remove the sauce from heat and set aside.
For the bechamel sauce
- Melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk constantly for about 2 minutes, until thick and bubbly and just starting to lightly brown.
- Slowly add the milk a little at a time while whisking constantly to prevent clumping. Increase the heat to medium and continue to whisk for 3-4 minutes until thickened and nearly boiling.
- Remove the bechamel sauce from the heat and add the egg yolks, salt, and pepper to taste, as well as one pinch of nutmeg. Whisk the egg yolks in quickly to fully incorporate the eggs without letting them cook in clumps in the sauce, then set aside.
Assemble the Moussaka
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and spray a 9X13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Spread the potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Layer half the eggplants on top of the potatoes.
- Pour all the meat sauce over the eggplant. Layer the remaining eggplant on top of the meat sauce. Pour the bechamel sauce over the eggplant and top it with the parmesan cheese.
- Bake the mousaka for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley and enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 356kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 651mg | Potassium: 1105mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 598IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 257mg | Iron: 3mg
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