Moussaka: the original recipe for the one-dish meal that is a symbol of Greek cuisine
Moussaka , or mousakà, is a typical dish of Greek , Balkan and Middle Eastern cuisine, a flan rich in ingredients whose layered structure recalls a local lasagna , even if the absence of pasta is more reminiscent of parmigiana . It is a caloric but decidedly appetizing recipe prepared with fried aubergines , potatoes, minced meat sauce – usually lamb, pork or beef – Greek cheese , kefalotiri (replaceable with a mix of parmesan and pecorino), and béchamel .
The origins of moussaka are rather uncertain: the most accredited hypothesis claims that it was born between Crete, Greece, and Cyprus, while the name derives from the Turkish musakka , in turn borrowed from Arabic or Persian. Since it is a dish also widespread in other Middle Eastern countries, there is no shortage of regional variations of the dish, such as the Bulgarian version , in which the béchamel is replaced by a batter made from milk, eggs and flour, the Turkish moussaka, with only fried aubergines and minced meat, or the potato version , which over time has become a traditional dish in Romania. We offer you the original recipe for Greek moussaka, which includes the use of lamb and the addition of fried potatoes.
Although not difficult to prepare, moussaka requires a bit of time to cook and assemble the ingredients in layers, but the result is worth the effort: after baking in the oven you will get a creamy and tasty pie, perfect to serve on the occasion of a Sunday lunch or a dinner with friends. In addition to being a single dish, you can propose it as a rich second course for a themed evening, together with the classic pita and the fresh tzatziki sauce .
Find out now how to prepare it by following the step-by-step procedure and advice; you can enjoy it warm shortly after cooking, but our advice is to let it settle for a few hours: the rest makes cutting easier, and will guarantee a perfect stratification of the slices. If you can resist the temptation to taste it immediately, enjoy it the next day, when all the flavors will have blended together and it will be even better.
After preparing the traditional one, also try the vegetarian moussaka , ideal when you have guests who don’t eat meat, and don’t miss other typical dishes of the Greek tradition, such as the Greek salad , the spanakopita , the pastisio , the baked feta and the Greek octopus , without forgetting the baklava , the exquisite sweets with dried fruit also popular in Turkish cuisine.
If you liked this recipe, try making shepherd’s pie , a traditional Anglo-Saxon dish in which minced lamb, flavoured with vegetables, is covered with a soft layer of mashed potatoes.
ingredients
For the ragù
Minced lamb meat
300 gr
Minced pork
300 gr
Tomato puree
300 gr
Onion
1
dry white wine
50 ml
Cinnamon powder
1 Teaspoon
Extra virgin olive oil
qb
salt
qb
pepper
qb
Eggplant
600 gr
Potatoes
3
Bechamel
500 ml
Grated pecorino cheese
100 gr
Grated Parmesan cheese
50 gr
peanut oil (for frying)
qb
How to prepare moussaka
Step 1
Start preparing the moussaka with the meat sauce: in a large pan, fry the chopped onion in plenty of oil.1.
Step 2
As soon as the onion starts to brown, add the minced meat, season with salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes. Then add the white wine2.
Step 3
Then add the tomato puree3, season with powdered cinnamon and leave to cook on a low heat for an hour, or until the sauce has reduced.
Step 4
Meanwhile, wash the aubergines and cut them into thin slices of about 5 mm.4. Then arrange them in layers on a baking tray, alternating them with coarse salt and placing a weight on top: let them rest for at least an hour, so that they lose the internal liquid and the bitter aftertaste, then rinse them and dry them with a clean cloth.
Step 5
Then peel the potatoes and cut them into slices of about 5 mm thick.5.
Step 6
Once the resting time has elapsed, fry the aubergines in very hot oil and drain them on absorbent kitchen paper.6Season with salt and set aside.
Step 7
Do the same with the potato slices, draining them on absorbent paper as well.7.
Step 8
Once all the ingredients are ready, start assembling the moussaka: on the bottom of a rectangular baking dish, first arrange the potatoes, which will form the base of the slices, then immediately add a first layer of aubergines on top.8.
Step 9
Proceed with half of the minced meat, the grated pecorino and parmesan9.
Step 10
Continue with the second layer of aubergines, the other half of the meat and the remaining cheese. Finally complete with a generous layer of béchamel sauce . 10.
Step 11
Bake now at 180°C for 40 minutes, turning on the grill during the last minutes of cooking to brown well. Once ready, take it out of the oven11and let it settle for a few hours.
Step 12
After resting, your moussaka is ready to be sliced and served.12.
Advice
If you don’t like lamb, you can replace it with beef or veal , choosing whether or not to mix it with pork.
Depending on your taste, you can omit the potatoes, or add courgettes instead of aubergines.
If you prefer, you can blend the meat with red wine, and add other herbs to the ragù such as parsley, bay leaves, nutmeg or cumin.
To make the béchamel sauce thicker, you can add a couple of spoons of Greek yogurt .
Moussaka can be stored for 2-3 days in the refrigerator, in a glass container. If you used fresh ingredients, you can also freeze it while cooked, remembering to leave it in the refrigerator overnight before eating it.
Variations of moussaka
Light moussaka
For a light moussaka, grill the aubergines instead of frying them, use 400 g of ground turkey and make a light béchamel sauce, using the vegetable stock. Pour 20 ml of extra virgin olive oil into a pan and add 25 g of flour, mix with a whisk, pour in the hot vegetable stock and cook until thickened. Prepare a first layer of grilled aubergines, add the minced meat cooked with the tomato sauce, as indicated in the recipe, another layer of grilled aubergines and finally the minced meat. Complete with a handful of grated pecorino and the vegetable béchamel, then cook in the oven at 180 °C for 45 minutes.
Potato Moussaka
To make the potato moussaka you have to make all the layers with fried potatoes, so all you have to do is replace the aubergines with potatoes, using 500 gr of potatoes. You can make it either with a red ragù, with tomato sauce, or with a white ragù without tomato, adding a few spoonfuls of béchamel between the layers of potatoes and minced meat.
Turkish Moussaka
Turkish moussaka is a variant without the addition of potatoes and bechamel. In this version you will have to use minced beef cooked with tomato and fry the aubergines as indicated in the recipe. Proceed by first creating a layer of aubergines and then of minced meat, until you run out of ingredients. Sprinkle the surface with grated pecorino and bake at 180 °C for 30 minutes.