Greek recipe
How to make Moussaka
Mousakás (μουσακάς)
All of Greece (the modern Greek version dates from the 1920s)
Layers of fried or baked aubergine and a tomato and minced meat sauce, topped with a thick béchamel sauce and baked until golden.
Ingredients
- 3 large aubergines (about 1 kg), sliced 1 cm thick
- Olive oil for brushing and frying
- 500 g minced lamb or beef
- 1 onion, finely chopped, and 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 400 g chopped tomatoes and 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- For the béchamel: 60 g butter, 60 g flour, 600 ml milk, 2 egg yolks, 50 g grated hard cheese (kefalotyri or Parmesan), a pinch of nutmeg
- Salt and black pepper
Method
- Brush the aubergine slices with olive oil, season with salt and bake at 200°C for about 25 minutes, turning once, until soft and golden.
- Fry the onion in a little oil until soft, add the garlic and the meat and cook until browned all over.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until thick.
- For the béchamel, melt the butter, stir in the flour for a minute, then whisk in the milk a little at a time and cook until thick. Take it off the heat and beat in the egg yolks, half the cheese and the nutmeg.
- In a baking dish, layer half the aubergine, all the meat sauce and the rest of the aubergine. Pour over the béchamel and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Bake at 180°C for about 45 minutes until golden, then leave to rest for 20 minutes before cutting.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
Similar dishes are eaten across the Balkans and the Middle East. The Greek version with its creamy topping was created in the 1920s by the chef Nikolaos Tselementes.
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