A classic Greek Moussaka is made by layering eggplant with a spiced meat filling and topping it off with a creamy bechamel sauce (I’ve called it a cheese sauce here, I’m not that flash), which is then baked until golden. YUM. I first had this dish in Italy and I’ll never forget that first mouthful: Heaven on a plate! (The memory is possibly firmly entrenched by the romance of the quintessential Italian restaurant complete with red and white tablecloths and the hot Dutch guy I was hanging out with at the time…)
So, here’s my version of Moussaka, which probably isn’t terribly authentic, but it is the kind of dish where everyone asks if there’s any leftover for seconds!
Note: The price of lamb mince would have required a home remortgage, so I used beef mince instead. Tasted great. Secondly, as I’m doing #sugarfreeseptember I made a few tweaks as I’m taking it seriously and having zero gluten. Accordingly I substituted the cheese sauce with cauliflower puree and it was DELICIOUS. I actually preferred it to how I usually make it (i.e. with a traditional cheese sauce made with flour). Our friends at the dinner party scoffed it blatantly oblivious that it contained a ‘cauliflower puree sauce’. If you are looking for a gluten free option (or want to up your vegetable intake) I’d definitely recommend using cauliflower puree instead of cheese sauce. The recipe is here. Just make sure you drain out about 1 cup of milk before you puree the mix, otherwise the puree will be too runny. Add extra Parmesan if you like it cheesy…
Note – in the photo I had doubled the recipe as I was feeding a large group!
This can be made 1-2 days in advance, refrigerated until you are ready to bake it. It seems to get better with age, so that’s a bonus! I know this looks high in ‘faff factor’ – but no more so than lasagna!
Moussaka
Ingredients (Serves 4)
Olive oil
2 large eggplants, sliced lengthwise into 0.5cm pieces
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp allspice
500g minced lamb
1 can of tomatoes
3 tbsp tomato purée
150ml red wine
1 tsp honey (or sugar)
Small bunch parsley, chopped
For the cheese sauce (Or use my cauliflower puree recipe)
2 1/2 c milk
60g butter
1/4 c plain flour
1 c grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Prepare Mince mixture
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees (normal bake).
- Place sliced eggplant onto two baking trays lined with baking paper. Using a pastry brush, brush both sides lightly with olive oil and season. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden (they should be soft, but not falling apart). You will need to check them halfway through and turn them over.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy based saucepan over a medium high heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic, cinnamon,oregano and allspice. Cook for a minute or two then add the lamb mince. Brown the lamb well, stirring constantly until the mixture is quite dry.
- Stir in the canned tomatoes, tomato puree, wine and honey (the honey or sugar reduces the acidity of the tomatoes and balances out the sauce).
- Bring sauce to a simmer, then turn the heat down low and cook for 30 minutes (uncovered!) until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir frequently. Season to suit your tastebuds and stir in the chopped parsley.
Prepare cheese sauce
- Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir the flour into the butter and cook for a minute, then gradually add the milk (1/4 c at a time), stirring constantly.
- Gradually add all the milk, you’ll end up with quite a thick sauce.
- Remove from heat and add 3/4 c grated cheese (place remaining 1/4 c of cheese to one side) and stir until melted. Add nutmeg and stir. Season to taste.
Bring it all together!
- Grease an oven dish (a lasagna dish is ideal, I usually use a square dish – 23cm x 23 cm – I used my large lasagna dish in the photos as I’d doubled the recipe to feed loads of peeps).
- Arrange a third of the eggplant in the base of the dish, and top with half of the meat mixture. Repeat these layers, then finish off with a layer of the remaining eggplant (you might not have enough to totally cover the meat – don’t worry about that!). Top with all of the cheese sauce. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 c grated cheese over the cheese sauce.
Place dish in oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until well browned. Leave to cool/stand for at least 20 minutes before serving. This is important so that it doesn’t fall apart when you dish it up!
