Moussaka

Moussaka is a traditional Greek casserole with layers of eggplant, creamy potato slices and beef mince flavoured with cinnamon and nutmeg. It is topped with a rich thick béchamel sauce. This is pure comfort food.

Prep Time1 20

Cook Time40

Resting Time20

Total Time2 20

Servings: 4

Author: Hangry Miss

Equipment

Deep baking dish about 20cm squared

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

teaspoon ground cinnamon
30 g tomato paste
75 ml red wine
large handful parsley leaves
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Tablespoon olive oil
500 g minced/ground beef
2 medium eggplant/aubergine
About 120ml olive oil
2 medium-sized potatoes

Topping

40 g cold butter
40 g plain/all purpose flour
300 ml milk
25 g cheddar
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (about half a nutmeg’s worth)
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 egg

Instructions

Meat Sauce

Prepare Sauce - in a small bowl add the cinnamon, tomato paste and wine. Finely chop the parsley and add this along with the salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Whisk together and set aside.
teaspoon ground cinnamon
30 g tomato paste
75 ml red wine
large handful parsley leaves
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Brown Meat - preheat the casserole pot over medium heat. Add the oil, turn up the heat to high and add the meat. Brown the meat, breaking up chunks with a flat-ended wooden spatula. We’re not looking to get caramelised crispy meat here.
Tablespoon olive oil
500 g minced/ground beef
Add Sauce - add the wine mix to the meat and stir through well. Very gently simmer for about 45 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally. You want to end up with tender meat that isn’t too wet. While the meat is cooking, you can get the eggplant and potato slices prepped.
Prepare Eggplant Slices - cut thin slices along the length of the eggplant, about ½ cm thick. Preheat a frying pan over medium heat. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices generously with olive oil (you can do this as you go along). Sauté on both sides in a frying pan over medium heat until golden brown and soft. Pile the slices up on a plate as they cook.
2 medium eggplant/aubergine
About 120ml olive oil
Prepare Potato Slices - peel and slice the potatoes into ½ cm discs. Put the slices in a small saucepan with enough cold salted water to generously cover. Place over high heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and maintain a simmer until the potatoes are very soft but not falling apart, about 10-15 minutes. Lift out gently with a slotted spoon/tip out gently into a colander. It’s not the end of the world if they break a bit.
2 medium-sized potatoes
Layering - preheat oven to 180°C. Arrange layers of mince, eggplant and potato in the baking dish. Divide the mince into four portions and the eggplant into three (no need to be overly precise).
Scatter a portion of the mince over the base of the dish and spread out, top with a portion of eggplant (you may not need to use it all), then a layer of potato. Break up the potato slices to fill any gaps. Again, you may have some left over. Then:
another portion of mince, layer of eggplant then,
another portion of mince, layer of eggplant then,
another portion of mince
Bake (uncovered) - in the oven for 20 minutes, until the top is browned. You can make the topping during this initial bake.

Make Topping

Butter & Flour - cut the butter into cubes. Add to a small saucepan with the flour. Cook over low heat, stirring often for a minute or two until the butter is melted and incorporated with the flour to form a very slightly browned paste.
40 g cold butter
40 g plain/all purpose flour
Milk - tip in all the milk, increase the heat to medium. Keep stirring (drawing figures of 8 works well to keep everything on the move) until the mixture bubbles and thickens, which will take a few minutes. A flexible spatula is good for schmearing in the milk and getting into the corners of the pan. Take off the heat.
300 ml milk
Cheese, Nutmeg, Egg & Seasoning - grate the cheese and stir through the white sauce (it doesn't have to fully melt). Very finely grate the nutmeg, and sieve into the sauce so that there are no big bits. Allow the sauce to cool slightly, then stir through a lightly whisked whole egg, salt and pepper. Cover closely with plastic wrap if not using straight away so that you don’t get a skin forming on the surface.
25 g cheddar
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
Top Moussaka - remove the moussaka from the oven. Dollop over the white sauce and drag out with a fork to form an even layer, entirely covering the top.
Second Bake - return to the oven and bake uncovered for another 20 minutes, until the white sauce is puffed up and scorched in spots and the underneath is bubbling around edges. Leave to cool for around 15 minutes before serving. The topping will collapse and get wrinkly. It’s all good.

Notes

Make Ahead

This eggplant and meat sauce components of moussaka freeze well. It’s worth doubling these and freezing for another time. The potato is easy to prepare fresh. The topping can be prepped while the moussaka does its initial cook and is probably not worth freezing in advance. Defrost any components you've made ahead in the fridge overnight. Take them out of the fridge while you preheat the oven.

Leftovers

Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days and microwave well. Portions can be frozen, defrosted overnight in the fridge and either microwaved to heat up, or warmed through covered in foil in an oven set to around 150°C.

Vegetarian?

I’ve made veggie and meat versions of Moussaka and served them side by side for a crowd with the same sides. Simply substitute the meat with the equivalent of canned lentils (no salt added). You'll save a few minutes because you can skip the browning meat step. Do everything else the same. You can honestly barely tell the difference.

Gluten-free?
Simply substitute the flour in the topping with GF flour.