Moussaka (Greek Lamb and Eggplant Lasagna)

Moussaka is serious Greek comfort food, but with less calories than lasagna. The Italian families all have their own version of Bolognese sauce when making a lasagna, and the Greek families often have their own recipe for Moussaka. I've never been to Greece unfortunately, but I felt a connection when I ate this dish.

A rich tomato meat sauce is layered  with slices of eggplant instead of pasta sheets, and adorned with a rich layer of béchamel sauce. 

As with any lasagna, there are a few steps involved in this Moussaka, but most of the components can be prepared in the days prior to the actual baking and eating. The result is well worth it. In this Greek Lasagna, because the pasta is replaced with layers of eggplant, there are less calories consumed, but this doesn't take away from any of the flavour.

My Moussaka recipe is based on one I found online by Nagi Maehashi. It turned out beautifully, thankyou Nagi. Please check out Nagi's Recipe Tin Eats online recipe if you wish, her website recipes help fund her Food Bank, which is such a noble cause.

This is a great dish to cook even for one or two people, as there will be a couple of continuous nights that you will want to eat it, and the rest can be frozen in slices for those nights that a comforting meal from the freezer is just what you need.

Ingredients:

Serves 6, Cooking time 30 minutes

Eggplant:

1 kg / 2 lb eggplant (aubergines), sliced into 0.75 cm/0.3 inch thick slices

1 tsp salt

2-3 tbsp olive oil

Meat Filling:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced (brown, white, or yellow)

3 garlic cloves, minced (optional if garlic allergic)

700 g/1.4 lb ground lamb or beef mince (lamb will have a lot more flavour and is more traditional, but is more expensive than beef where I live)

1/2 cup red wine, dry (optional)

400 g/14 oz crushed tomatoes

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup beef stock

1 beef stock cube or 1 tsp powder

2 bay leaves

1.5 tsp sugar (any kind)

2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried mint (optional)

1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)

1/2 tsp cinnamon (or use 1 whole stick)

3/4 tsp salt

Bechamel Sauce

4 tbsp (60 g) butter

5 tbsp plain flour

2 1/2 cups milk

1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated is optional but much better

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated (or Kefalotiri Cheese if you prefer)

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 1/4 tsp chicken, Vegeta,  or vegetable stock powder or salt (see cook's notes below)

1/4 tsp white pepper

Topping:

1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (see cook's notes below)

Cooking Instructions:

Eggplant:

In your largest colander, place the eggplant slices, slightly overlapping. Sprinkle with some salt, repeat the process, until all the eggplant is in the colander.

The eggplant can now sweat for 30 minutes in the colander to remove a lot of the juices, and it will. 

Meanwhile, use your time to make the meat sauce and the bechamel. However, if you are highly organised, you may have already made the meat sauce, even the day before, and the flavour can only improve in the frig.

Preheat your oven to 240 deg. C/450 deg F.

After 30 minutes, pat the eggplant dry or it will be too salty. I quite like to give it a slight sprinkle with some water, and then pat it dry, so that all of the salt is removed. 

Line a couple of baking trays with baking paper, (you might need 3 trays), and place the eggplant slices on the trays, and brush with olive oil. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and softened. 

Remove them from the oven and set aside until lightly cooled. I have sometimes previously refrigerated the eggplant in readiness, and used them the following day, but you need the frig room for this. 

Meat Sauce: (this could be cooked, and frozen in readiness in advance)

Grab your garlic and onion, and cook for two minutes in olive oil in a large skillet over a high heat.

Add the lamb or beef to the pan and cook until the meat starts to change colour to brown. Break it up with a spoon as you go. 

Add the red wine (1/2 cup), have a sip yourself if you like, and cook for 15 minutes, until the smell of the alcohol has disappeared.

Now add all of the remaining Meat Filling ingredients to the pan, and give them a good stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and then reduce the heat to a medium low and cook for about 15 minutes. The meat filling will reduce to a thick sauce. It needs to be thick so that it will cut well into squares. 

Your work is done here! Phew.

Bechamel Sauce:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Spoon in the flour, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Continue to stir constantly, and add the milk slowly. 

Keep stirring quite regularly on a medium-low heat, for about 3-5 minutes, so that it thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon thickly. It shouldn't burn if you keep stirring, but just watch it. Don't leave the stove.

Remove the saucepan from the stove, and whisk in the cheese, nutmeg, stock powder, Vegeta or salt, and the pepper.

Leave the white sauce to cool for 5 minutes, then whisk in the eggs. Cover with a lid until you are ready to add the bechamel to the moussaka.

(If you are a bit anxious, and please don't be, as to whether or not the bechamel has thickened enough, this can be remedied. It does need to be thick. The bechamel can be transferred to a medium sized Pyrex dish after it has cooled, and placed in the microwave  and then cooked in spurts of 30 seconds at a time, and given a whisk in between until it thickens enough to spread as a thick layer in the moussaka. I have often made my bechamel sauce, not actually this one, but others for cauliflower cheese etc solely in the microwave. You just need to be careful that the white sauce doesn't boil over the top of the dish and make a mess.)

Assemble

Lower your oven to 180C/350F

Select a lasagne pan, or a 26 cm/9" skillet, and place half the eggplant in the base. 

Top with all the Meat Sauce filling.

Top with remaining eggplant, then pour over the Bechamel Sauce, and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs.

Bake in your preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until it is beautifully golden brown.

Leave it to stand for 10 minutes before serving, so that all the ingredients, are slightly cooled and set and easier to slice.

To freeze, allow the dish to cool. Cover tightly with cling wrap and a layer of alfoil, and freeze. 

To reheat, allow the Moussaka to thaw, then reheat at 180C/350F for 25 minutes uncovered. Stick a knife in after this time and if it comes out hot then it is reheated. 

Cook's Notes:

• Vegeta or chicken or vegetable stock powder will add more flavour to the white sauce, than plain salt, and this is needed really, because there is a lot of sauce. However, plain salt will work too. (You could just add a bit more cheese if only using salt.)
• I generally use Panko breadcrumbs for more crunch, but sometimes I make my own breadcrumbs and use them, much more cost effective and taste so natural. However, I know that Panko are Japanese not Greek, so up to you. 
• I really recommend that you have all of the Meat Filling ingredients measured out on your bench before you start cooking. 
• A traditional Moussaka is made with Kefalotiri Cheese, but Parmesan works just as well. 

Serve with a fresh green or Greek salad.

I'm struggling a bit to publish this tonight, but it needs to be done, as I really want to share this delicious recipe with you.  I needed to have some excision surgery on my leg today. The local anaesthetic is starting to wear off, and I just hope that the small brown irregular lesion they removed doesn't turn out to be anything sinister. Best to have it removed though, just in case. Fingers crossed, so I am on light duties for two weeks until the stitches are removed. No Pickleball and no gym, so lots of reading, crossword puzzles, listening to music, some cooking hopefully, relaxation and whatever else I feel I can do. Take care, and thanks for dropping by.

Happy cooking.

Warm wishes,

Pauline