Moussaka is a Greek Eggplant Casserole, and perfect for comfort food. It is traditionally made with ground lamb or beef, but soy crumbles can also be used for a vegetarian alternative.
Prep Time1 hourhr45 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr
Total Time2 hourshrs45 minutesmins
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Greek
Servings: 6
Author: Patti from CooksRecipeCollection.com
Ingredients
For Eggplant:
3mediumeggplant
3/4cupolive oilextra virgin
For Meat Sauce (or Vegetarian Option):
1/4cupolive oilextra virgin
1largeonionchopped
3clovesgarlicchopped
1 1/2poundsground lamb or beef(or 1 package frozen soy crumbles)
3tomatoeschopped
1tbsptomato paste
1tspdried oregano(or 2 tsp fresh oregano)
1/4tspground allspice
1/8tspground cinnamon
1/2cupdry red wine
salt and pepperto taste
For Bechamel Sauce:
4tbspbutter
6tbspflour
2cupsmilk
1/8tspground nutmeg
2/3cupParmesan cheesefreshly grated
1tspsalt
white pepperto taste
For Moussaka Assembly:
1cupParmesan cheese
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Peel and slice eggplant into 1/2 inch slices. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with olive oil, and bake in a single layer for 10 minutes on each side. They will be golden browned. Set aside to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
For meat sauce, heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic cook about 15 minutes or until translucent; add and ground meat (or Frozen Soy Crumbles) to the pan and cook for an additional 15 minutes, or until the meat is browned or the Soy Crumbles have thawn completely. Add the remaining meat sauce ingredients, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until moisture has evaporated. Set this mixture aside.
For Bechamel sauce, melt butter under low heat in a medium saute pan, add flour and cook for about 1 - 2 minutes. This will be a white sauce, so don't allow it to brown at this point. Slowly whisk in milk. Continue stiring until mixture is thickened and smooth, about an additional 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese. Set sauce aside.
To assemble moussaka, place one layer of eggplant slices on bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, overlapping slices. Spread the eggplant with 1/3 of the meat sauce, then sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Add two more layers of eggplant, meat sauce, and cheese. Cover the layers with the Bechamel sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Bake Moussake for about 1 hour, or until mixture is bubbly and golden browned on top. Let sit for about 20 minutes after removing from oven, cut and serve.