Moussaka

Let's get back to the Levant and some of their amazing dishes. Moussaka is an eggplant- or potato-based dish, usually including ground meat with many local and regional variations. The best-known version is the Greek one.

It seems likely that the Greek moussaka has Arab origins and is related to the Levantine musakhkhan, with the word moussaka derived from this Arab word. The Moussaka that we know was created by a Greek chef in the 1920s.

It is a bit of work

Basically a moussaka has four different layers; potato, aubergine, meat and bechamel sauce.

This also means that all layers have to be prepared, which takes a certain amount of time. This is why I recommend to make a little more in each case in order to be able to fall back on leftovers the next day. To be honest, this is almost never the case with us...

Preparing and cooking needs time

Sometimes I cheat a little; if I have enough bolognese sauce left, I use it instead of cooking a meat sauce especially for the moussaka.

And of course, this recipe is gluten-free.

Ingredients

for 6 people

For the aubergines:

3 aubergines

oilve oil

salt

For the potatoes:

800 g potatoes, floury kind

Nutmeg

For the meat sauce:

600 g minced lamb or beef

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

5 tablespoons tomato paste

800 g peeled/chopped canned tomatoes

1 tablespoon of cumin

1 leave of rosemary

½ tablespoon cinnamon

salt, pepper

olive

For the bechamel sauce:

60 g butter

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour (gluten-free)

750 ml milk

2 egg yolk

Nutmeg

Salt

Pepper

100 g Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Cut the aubergine into slices about 1cm thickness. Salt the aubergine slices on both sides, lay them on a baking tray using kitchen paper and sprinkle them with olive oil.

You could fry the aubergines, but I use the oven. Heat up the oven to 180 degrees and leave the aubergines in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

Heat some oil in another large pot and fry the minced meat in it for a couple of minutes until it is browned. Add onion, chopped garlic, tomato paste and canned tomatoes and mix. Season well with salt, cumin, rosemary and cinnamon. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes.

For the bechamel sauce melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and mix continuously to a paste. As soon as bubbles form, reduce the heat and gradually add the milk while stirring. Stir vigorously until a smooth sauce is formed. Simmer for approx. 3 - 4 minutes and allow to thicken. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the egg yolk. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into thick pieces.

Grease a large casserole dish. Heat up the oven to 200 degrees.

Spread the potatoes evenly on the bottom of the casserole dish. Add some salt and nutmeg.

Place a layer of aubergine slices on top and add the meat sauce on top.

Spread the bechamel sauce on top and sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese. .

Bake the casserole dish at 200°C for about 45 minutes until it is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before cutting.