Minced lamb in a wealthy tomato sauce, layered up with aubergines and potatoes and completed off with scrumptious tacky white sauce. Moussaka is ideal consolation meals.
I’ve received a little bit shortcut to pre-cook the potatoes and aubergine for this dish, so it saves time and washing up too!
If you happen to’ve by no means sat in a little bit Greek taverna, consuming a beautiful plate of moussaka, all washed down with a chilly Mythos, then you definitely haven’t lived.
It’s been too lengthy since I visited Greece and loved the numerous improbable dishes they’re so well-known for.
That is my model of that improbable dish. It’s taken a little bit of testing, and various aubergines (eggplant when you’re within the US). I hope you adore it as a lot as I do!
📋 Essential Substances
📋 Cheese Sauce Substances
Potatoes – Use floury potatoes, comparable to Maris Piper or Russet. These are glorious at absorbing all that flavour!
Minced Beef – I’m utilizing 10% fats minced beef as a result of that little bit of additional fats helps to raise all of the seasonings. However I don’t use any larger than 12% fats, as a result of this will trigger the meat sauce to turn out to be greasy.
Aubergines (Eggplants) – I used 3 medium-sized aubergines (approx 250g/0.55lbs per aubergine), however you should utilize bigger or smaller, so long as it comes out across the similar weight.
The best way to make it:
***Full recipe with detailed steps within the recipe card on the finish of this submit***
- Initially we wish to par-cook the potatoes. I don’t do that in a pan of water (who wants one other dish to scrub!). As an alternative, I layer the peeled and sliced potatoes straight within the moussaka dish and place some parchment on prime. That is to maintain the potatoes from drying out within the oven, in order that they primarily prepare dinner in their very own steam.
- We additionally wish to par-cook the sliced aubergines. There are sufficient aubergine slices to wish two trays, however reasonably than utilizing two trays, I layer up one tray of aubergine slices, then layer up the remainder of the aubergine slices on prime of the baking parchment, which is on prime of the potatoes (this can assist hold the steam of these potatoes in much more).
- The aubergine slices are seasoned and cooked within the oven with the potatoes.
- While that’s cooking I make the meat sauce. This needs to be prepared at about the identical time the potatoes and aubergines are prepared.
- Take the aubergine tray and the potato-aubergine dish out of the oven. Carry up the parchment that’s masking the potatoes (with the aubergines on). Watch out, there will probably be trapped steam, so raise it up rigorously.
- Place the parchment with the aubergines on it to at least one aspect. Verify the potatoes are accomplished by sticking a knife in. They need to be fairly tender (they’ll return within the oven uncovered for an additional 5 minutes if wanted).
- Subsequent, we make the cheese sauce, after which it’s time to layer the whole lot up.
- Layer half of the aubergine slices on prime of the potatoes. High with half of the meat sauce. Add the remainder of the aubergines, adopted by the remainder of the meat sauce.
- End off by spooning that creamy, tacky sauce on prime. Then place within the oven till the moussaka is deep golden and effervescent.
- I prefer to relaxation it for 5 minutes earlier than serving it with a beautiful salad.
Professional Tip
When making ready your potato and aubergine slices, you’ll be able to par-cook them within the dish you wish to assemble the moussaka (that is to assist save on washing up). Additionally, when cooking, place the aubergine on prime, this permits the liquid from the potatoes to remain on the backside of the dish, holding them good and moist.
The tender layers of potato and aubergine take in all these scrumptious flavours from the meat layers.
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🍽️ What to serve it with
- Some Easy Salad provides a beautiful little bit of freshness!
- Or a easy, greek-style salad is a superb mixture.
- Use a Heat Flatbread to mop up the remainder of that beautiful sauce!
The mix of spices creates such a posh style, and that creamy-cheesy layer on prime rounds off the dish superbly.
🍲 Extra improbable Greek-inspired recipes
Sure! You can also make the moussaka (or components of it) forward in a few other ways:
1) You can also make up the meat sauce as much as a day prematurely. Simply observe the directions then shortly cool and retailer in an air-tight container within the fridge. When it’s time to assemble, par-cook the potatoes and aubergines and make the cheese sauce once they’re within the oven. Assemble the dish utilizing the chilly meat sauce (it is going to reheat when it’s all layered up within the oven) and prepare dinner as per the directions.
2) One other technique to make the moussaka forward is by making the dish throughout to the tip, then cool, tightly cowl and refrigerate for as much as 3 days. Once you wish to reheat it, you’ll be able to reheat the entire dish within the oven (reheat it coated in foil to cease it over-browning and drying out), or reheat in parts individually in both the microwave or the oven. Simply be certain that it’s piping scorching all through earlier than serving.
If you happen to’re reheating the entire dish, take out of the fridge an hour earlier than you wish to bake it – to permit it to come back as much as room temperature (this helps to keep away from chilly spots within the center whenever you reheat). Place within the oven, coated in foil for 20-25 minutes at 200C/400F till piping scorching all through.
Sure, you’ll be able to freeze this dish.
First, make the dish throughout to the tip, as per the directions. Then you’ll be able to both depart the dish complete, or separate the parts. Shortly cool and retailer in and air-tight container within the freezer. Once you wish to warmth it up, defrost within the fridge the evening earlier than, then reheat as per the reheat directions above.
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For oiling the baking dish:
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Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
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Now take your moussaka dish (mine is an oblong forged iron roaster, approx 32cmx25cm and 5cm deep) and brush the bottom and sides with 1 tbsp of the olive oil.
1 tbsp olive oil
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Additionally take a big shallow baking tray and line it with baking parchment.
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Layer the potatoes over the bottom of the moussaka dish. It’s okay in the event that they’re overlapping a little bit, however not an excessive amount of, or they gained’t prepare dinner via.
3 medium potatoes
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Place a layer of baking parchment excessive of the potatoes and layer slices of aubergine excessive (this could use about half of your aubergines).
3 medium aubergines (eggplant)
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Layer the remaining aubergine slices on prime of the baking parchment on the ready shallow baking tray.
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Brush the entire aubergine slices with the olive oil and sprinkle on the salt and pepper.
3/4 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp black pepper, 2 tbsp olive oil
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Place the moussaka dish and the baking tray within the oven for 20-25 minutes (till the aubergines are evenly browned and the potatoes are tender).
For the Meat Sauce:
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In the meantime, make the meat sauce.
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Warmth the olive oil in a big frying pan over a medium-high warmth.
1 tbsp olive oil
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Add the chopped onions and fry for five minutes, stirring usually, till softened.
1 onion
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Add the lamb mince to the pan and switch up the warmth to excessive.
1 kg (2.2lbs) lamb mince – round 10% fats
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Fry the lamb mince till browned, breaking apart any chunks with a wood spoon or spatula (this could take about 5 minutes).
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Stir within the garlic and prepare dinner for an additional minute, then add the purple wine. Permit to bubble for five minutes.
3 cloves garlic, 120 ml (1/2 cup) purple wine
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Crumble the inventory dice into the combination, then add within the mint, cinnamon, oregano, bay leaves, salt, pepper, tomato puree, tinned tomatoes and sugar.
1 beef or lamb inventory dice, ½ tsp dried mint, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp oregano, 2 bay leaves, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, 2 tbsp tomato puree, 800 g (2 x 14oz) tins chopped tomatoes, 1 tsp sugar
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Stir collectively and produce to the boil, then flip down the warmth and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
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By now the aubergines and potatoes needs to be prepared to come back out of the oven.
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Rigorously raise the baking parchment with the aubergines on that’s on prime of the potatoes and place the parchment and aubergines to at least one aspect.
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Check the potatoes with a knife – they need to be fairly tender. If not, place a bit of parchment over them and place again within the oven for an additional 5 minutes.
For the Cheese Sauce:
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Now make the cheese sauce.
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Warmth the butter in a saucepan over a medium warmth till melted.
4 tbsp (60 g) unsalted butter
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Add the flour and stir into the butter utilizing a whisk for 1 minute.
4 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
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Add the milk, a splash at a time, whereas stirring with the whisk, till all of the milk is included, and you’ve got a clean sauce. Maintain stirring, till the sauce thickens (it ought to thicken simply earlier than it involves boiling level).
600 ml (2 ½ cups) full fats milk
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Flip off the warmth and stir within the parmesan.
100 g (1 cup) grated Parmesan cheese
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Add the egg and egg yolk and instantly stir into the sauce utilizing the whisk (it’s essential do that straight away, so the egg doesn’t prepare dinner in areas and type lumps within the sauce).
1 massive egg, 1 egg yolk
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Stir within the nutmeg and black pepper.
pinch of nutmeg, ¼ tsp black pepper
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Now it’s time to assemble the moussaka.
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Take the baking dish that already has the potatoes within the backside. Take away the parchment off the highest (when you haven’t accomplished so already).
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Place half of the aubergine slices on prime of the potatoes.
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Spoon on half the meat sauce.
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Layer on the remaining aubergine slices.
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Spoon on the remaining meat sauce.
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Spoon on the cheese sauce, smoothing it out into a good layer.
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Place the moussaka within the oven to prepare dinner for 25-Half-hour, till golden.
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Take out of the oven and depart to relaxation for five minutes earlier than serving.
Why don’t you salt the aubergine like another recipes do?
Some recipes (particularly older recipes) name for salting slices of aubergine earlier than utilizing in recipes.
That is to cut back bitterness and take away extra water from the aubergines.
Nonetheless, aubergines usually aren’t as bitter as they was.
Additionally, I’m evenly roasting the aubergine slices earlier than including to the moussaka – this reduces the surplus liquid and provides further flavour to the general dish.
So we don’t have to salt (after which rinse off the salt) the aubergine earlier than utilizing.
Why are you cooking the potato slices within the dish with baking parchment and aubergine sliced on prime?
I prepare dinner the sliced potato within the baking dish this technique to:
- Stop the necessity for me to boil the potatoes in a pan (saving on washing up)
- Stop me having to deal with scorching potato slices when making up the moussaka layers later (the potatoes keep the place they’re – within the backside of the dish, and the whole lot else is layered on prime).
- The baking parchment and aubergine slices go on prime of the potato slices to maintain the potato slices moist and tender when cooking (we don’t need them crispy, or they gained’t soak up these moussaka flavours later). The aubergine slices on prime of the parchment overwhelm the parchment on prime of the potatoes to maintain it in place, and in addition saves on needing an additional tray to par-cook the aubergine slices (so we solely want one further tray to par-cook the aubergines as an alternative of two).
Dietary info is approximate, per serving. This recipe serves 8.
Energy: 690kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 33g | Fats: 46g | Saturated Fats: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 3g | Monounsaturated Fats: 18g | Trans Fats: 2g | Ldl cholesterol: 171mg | Sodium: 1.021mg | Potassium: 993mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 688IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 295mg | Iron: 5mg
Diet info is robotically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
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