When traveling around Greece, tourists do not miss the opportunity to get acquainted with the local cuisine. Spicy taste traditional Mediterranean dishes many people like it, so when they return to their native land, travelers often try to repeat the creations of Greek chefs at home. Among the popular dishes are Greek salad, Tzatziki, Taramasalata and Greek Moussaka with eggplant, the recipe for which we will give in today’s article. After reading the material, you will learn how to prepare classic Moussaka, as well as what variations of this dish there are.
Every restaurant, cafe or tavern in Greece serves traditional Moussaka - a layered Greek casserole with eggplant, minced meat and cream sauce. By appearance and the cooking technology is very similar Italian lasagna, with the only difference that instead of pasta sheets, the Greeks use vegetables. This dish is also associated with French cuisine, because the casserole is filled with the famous bechamel sauce.
This combination of European flavor notes with traditional Greek products is due to the fact that the creator of Moussaka, chef Nikos Tselemendis, not only loved the national cuisine, but also appreciated the culinary discoveries of other countries. As a result of the hobbies and experiments of the Greek chef, a classic recipe for Greek Moussaka with eggplant and béchamel sauce was born. Let's consider detailed composition this original recipe.
IngredientsIt is difficult to surprise modern gourmets, so classic recipes are constantly undergoing changes in the composition of ingredients or production method. We will also get acquainted with the variations of the Greek casserole, but first we will look at the age-old classics.
Traditional Moussaka is made from eggplant and minced lamb. Lamb is a favorite meat of the Greeks, and will not tolerate replacement by other types of meat delicacies. Beef, pork, chicken and turkey are a completely different taste for a Greek dish.
This is the complete list containing the main ingredients of Moussaka:
- Eggplants – 1 kg;
- Minced lamb – 500-700 gr.;
- Onions – 2 pcs.;
- Tomatoes- 3 pcs.;
- Oilolive – 2 tbsp;
- Cheese – 100 gr.;
- White dry wine– 150 ml.
In addition, you need to stock up on spices and ingredients to prepare the sauce.
The composition and proportions of spices depend entirely on the preferences of the cook. Sometimes Eggplant Moussaka only contains ground pepper, salt and nutmeg. But in most cases, the dish is seasoned with a whole mixture of herbs. For a rich taste, add a sprig of cinnamon to the minced meat, nutmeg, oregano, lemon zest, Bay leaf, salt, red pepper and regular ground pepper.
The Greek casserole is filled with bechamel sauce, for which you will need the following products:
- Milk – 0.5 l.;
- Butter – 90 gr.;
- Egg – 2 pcs.;
- Cheese – 150 gr;
- Flour – 2 tbsp.
Preparing Moussaka is a rather lengthy process, consisting of several preparatory stages. The table below contains a description of each stage and important notes on the preparation technology.
| Greek moussaka with eggplant | |||
| № | Stage | Description | Nuances and comments |
| 1 | Slicing eggplants. | At the discretion of the cook, you can cut the vegetables lengthwise into large slices, or crosswise into round pieces. Most cooks prefer to peel the skin, but in the classic recipe, eggplants are added to the dish with the skin. During the cooking process, it softens and does not interfere with enjoying the finished dish. | To prevent vegetables from becoming bitter, after cutting, keep them for 20-30 minutes in a “salt bath” (2 tablespoons of salt per 1 liter of water). After the procedure, dry the slices with a paper towel. |
| 2 | Preparing tomatoes. | Tomatoes are peeled and cut into circles. Before assembling the layers, saute the tomatoes a little in a frying pan. | To easily remove the skin, immerse the cut vegetables in boiling water for 1 minute and then pour over cold water and remove the skin. |
| 3 | Roasting and stewing (onion, minced meat, tomatoes, wine, spices). |
Peeled and finely chopped onions are placed in a heated frying pan. When the color turns golden, add minced meat to the onion, mix thoroughly and continue frying. When the meat begins to release juice, it is seasoned with spices and poured with wine and water. The meat component is left to simmer until the liquid evaporates. | Products are fried exclusively in olive oil.
Lamb is used as minced meat, but as a last resort, it can be replaced with beef. |
| 4 | Roasting eggplants | While the meat is stewing, fry the prepared eggplant slices in a separate frying pan. | Fry over high heat, no more than 1 minute for each side of the vegetable. |
| 5 | Preparing the sauce | Place on a frying pan butter and warm up a little. Then add flour to the butter and fry until golden brown. Slowly pour milk into the mixture, stir, and bring the mixture to the consistency of liquid sour cream, then remove from heat. Beat the eggs a little and quickly pour them into the prepared mixture. All that remains is to add the grated cheese, season the sauce with nutmeg and salt, and mix thoroughly again. | The base is cooked over low heat, stirring constantly. Milk and eggs are added carefully so that they do not curdle ahead of time. |
| 6 | Assembling layers | The prepared products are placed in a baking dish in the following order:
The dish is placed in a preheated oven and baked for 40-50 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees. |
Before serving, the vegetable casserole should steep for 15-20 minutes. |
This is how traditional Greek food is prepared. Now let's look at popular variations of recipes.
Moussaka recipesBesides classic way there are quite a few manufactures delicious variations of this dish. For example, Moussaka with eggplant and potatoes, lean casserole, Moussaka with rice and more than 14 recipes for preparing this dish in the oven. In addition, often the meat used is not lamb or beef, but chicken and pork. And the composition of spices for snacks is completely inexhaustible. Chili, cinnamon, garlic, dill and parsley, nutmeg, ground black pepper - Moussaka goes with everything.
Classic recipe for Greek moussaka with eggplant and potatoesThis variation is different from classic dish « Greek Moussaka with minced meat and eggplants” only by the presence of potatoes. The process steps are:
Moussaka is baked with potatoes for about 60-80 minutes.
Preparing a classic Moussaka recipe with eggplant means getting a huge portion of calories. If you are a fan of lighter and proper nutrition, then you can replace the composition of the products and prepare vegetarian Moussaka.
Required Ingredients:
- carrots (2),
- potatoes (5),
- celery (100g),
- green beans (500g),
- rice (half a cup),
- eggs (4),
- milk (200 ml),
- olive or vegetable oil (50 ml),
- onions (2).
The onion is finely chopped, the carrots and celery are grated, after which the vegetables are placed in a frying pan and fried. Separately boil rice, beans and potatoes. Ready beans cut into pieces and the potatoes are grated onto coarse grater. The prepared products are laid out in layers in the mold, which are done in the following order:
- potato;
- fried vegetables;
- rice;
- beans.
The sauce is made from a mixture of eggs and milk, but it is also possible classic Bechamel. Vegetarian Moussaka is baked for only 20 minutes at 180 degrees.
For Lenten dishes In addition to rice, beans or carrots, cooks also use other vegetables. Therefore, Moussaka with cabbage, bell pepper, pumpkin, green peas, etc. is not at all uncommon.
Greek moussaka with eggplant and zucchiniMany people like to combine zucchini and eggplant in Moussaka, this makes the dish more juicy and rich.
This casserole is prepared with minced meat (meat mixtures from lamb, beef or veal are acceptable), the only difference is the amount of vegetables. Zucchini is chopped and cooked in the same way as eggplant, you can even fry the vegetables together. The only thing we note is that zucchini should not be soaked in water or kept in salt, because... they will lose their consistency.
Variation with eggplant and riceAnother recipe for people who do not accept meat and high-calorie pastas. Moussaka is prepared a little differently with rice, so the full step-by-step instruction cooking.
Ready Moussaka is served without sauce, but with a sprinkling of fresh herbs.
A traditional Greek dish is prepared very tasty using a slow cooker. Thanks to the gentle heating of the bowl, the Moussaka tastes more delicate.
Ingredients for the dish:
- eggplants – 2 pcs.,
- onion – 1 piece,
- minced meat – 500 g,
- eggs – 2 pcs,
- cheese – 150 gr,
- sour cream – 2 tbsp,
- flour – 2 tbsp,
- tomato paste – 1 tbsp,
- butter – 1 tbsp.,
- garlic – 1 clove.
Cooking process
Cut the eggplants into slices and let sit for 20 minutes. in a salt bath, dry. Chop the onion and garlic, fry in the “Baking” mode until golden brown. Add the seasoned minced meat to the onions and continue cooking for another 20 minutes. Season the mixture with tomato paste, leave to simmer in the same mode for 10 minutes
During this time, thoroughly mix the grated cheese, eggs and sour cream, achieving a homogeneous thick mass. Open the bowl, place the eggplants on top of the minced meat and pour the sauce over the dish. Leave to cook for another 20 minutes until the vegetables are browned.
Moussaka with chicken and eggplantJust as salads and casseroles with chicken are popular and tasty, Greek Moussaka goes well with poultry. The cooking method is similar to the classic recipe, only instead of minced meat, chicken fillet is finely chopped and fried with vegetables. The dish is laid out in layers and poured with a sufficient amount of bechamel sauce.
2017-07-15
Date: 07/15/2017
Tags:
Hello my dear readers! We now have “local” eggplants on sale. I usually start the eggplant season with my favorite caviar. But this time I really wanted moussaka. Moreover, for my birthday I received wonderful ceramic baking dishes. Today on our agenda is a recipe for Greek moussaka with eggplant.
Last year at this time I was dreaming of a trip to sunny Greece. No trial! I wanted to go spontaneously and the easiest way was to get a “change” at the Hungarian Consulate in Beregovo. Moreover, I have never had any problems with obtaining visas.
However, this time the Hungarian consul considered that five days in the Shangen zone was enough for me - just to get to Greece, plunge into the blue waves of the Aegean Sea and back to my native land. And I was already dreaming of how, after swimming in the sea, in a nearby coastal tavern I would eat the famous Greek moussaka with eggplant and wash it down with wonderful local wine. 
My husband tried to console me as best he could - we went to our thermal pool almost every day, and in the evening he arranged a “gastronomic paradise” for me. Vova prepared an incomparable baked potato in Transcarpathian style, grilled fish, Turkish flatbread gozleme and absolutely amazing moussaka with eggplant and minced lamb.
And why do we need Greece? The water there at the end of September is already quite cool, and our thermal waters all year round warm - 33-35°C. We spent the entire fall and winter basking in various pools and hot tubs, always laughing and saying the phrase I loved: “Why do we need this Greece?” But let's get back to the moussaka recipe - you're probably tired of waiting.
Greek moussaka with eggplant - a classic recipe in my adaptation
- 5 medium sized eggplants.
- 750-800 g minced meat.
- 6-7 large tomatoes with sugar pulp.
- A handful of hard goat cheese (ideally kefalotyri).
- 1-2 heads of onions.
- 3-4 cloves of garlic.
- Ground black pepper.
- 0.5 teaspoon of oregano (thyme, savory).
- 0.25 coffee spoon ground cinnamon (optional).
- A glass of red or white dry wine.
- Olive oil (for cooking eggplant and meat sauce).
- Salt.
- 50-65 g butter.
- 85 g flour.
- 750 ml milk.
- A pinch of finely grated nutmeg.
How to cook bechamel 
My comments My moussaka recipe with photos explains almost step by step all the steps of preparation. I can only add that I usually divide the cooking into two days. In the first, I cook the meat part and bechamel, and in the second, I bake or fry the eggplants and put the Greek moussaka together.
The quantity of products must be “adjusted” to your shape. There are no exact proportions - there are general principle. No one will stop you from adding a layer of zucchini or zucchini. It won’t turn out quite Greek, but it’s still delicious! I even really liked the zucchini moussaka instead of eggplant.
I cook the meat sauce for a long time, like... Then he has delicate taste and the desired consistency.
Moussaka is also prepared with potatoes, eggplants and minced meat. I picked up the recipe from my friend Lena Meteleva, who worked in a real tavern for many years. She knows exactly how to make moussaka the Greek way.
Moussaka with potatoes and minced meat Ingredients
- 4-5 eggplants.
- 5 large potatoes.
- About a kilogram of minced meat (any mixed meat).
- 1.5 cups grated tomatoes (fresh or canned) own juice).
- 3 tablespoons good tomato sauce.
- 100 g dry white wine or retsina.
- 70-80 ml olive oil.
- One large onion.
- 5 cloves of garlic.
- 100 g kefalotyri cheese or other hard goat cheese.
- Parsley (oregano, basil).
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper.
- A quarter teaspoon of hot ground red pepper.
- A third of a coffee spoon ground cinnamon and cloves.
- A couple of small pinches of sugar.
- Salt.
- 800 ml milk.
- 120 g butter.
- 120 g flour.
- A quarter teaspoon of grated nutmeg.
- A quarter teaspoon of ground black pepper.
- 2 tablespoons of grated kefalotyri or any other hard cheese.
Typically, moussaka is instantly addictive and loved from the first bite. After mastering the dish, there is often an inextinguishable urge to cook moussaka again and again, to experiment with the composition and spices. Very tasty, for example, add a layer of toasted or baked bell pepper, boiled pasta or rice. And even if it turns out to be a different casserole, its original “grandmother” is still Greek moussaka.
I'm done for today. Write, I am happy to read your comments. Share information on in social networks, if you think it is useful. Good luck, health and love to everyone!
Always yours Irina. 
Who remembers these lines: “Melina Mercuri sings, Melina Mercuri calls, Hellas’ fearless daughter!”? And in these old footage she is just a woman. Immensely and passionately loving.
Melina Mercouri - "Love" has become a double-edged sword"
Moussaka is an eggplant and lamb dish common in the Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East. Classic moussaka, which is prepared in Greece and on the island of Cyprus, is hot and very hearty casserole, in which layers of meat and fried vegetables, topped with milky béchamel sauce and a delicious cheese crust. This dish is sometimes called vegetable lasagna, in which the paste is replaced with eggplant, since the remaining components of the moussaka almost exactly repeat the composition of the traditional one.
In taste and consistency, Greek moussaka is also reminiscent of the famous Italian dish, but it will appeal more to vegetable lovers. Soft juicy fried eggplants play a leading role in it and harmonize perfectly with the hearty meat filling and velvety milk cheese sauce bechamel. This dish simply melts in your mouth and gives an unforgettable experience thanks to its multifaceted, rich taste and delicate texture.
Although cooking real moussaka- the process is quite labor-intensive and dish-intensive, however, your efforts will certainly pay off when a ruddy, aromatic, sizzling casserole appears on the table, which with its appearance and smell will awaken the appetite and quickly gather household members for a friendly family lunch or dinner. Greek moussaka with eggplant and minced meat is a great idea for an original second course with amazing taste and real southern flavor!
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 medium eggplants (800 - 900 g)
- 80 g parmesan
- 450 g minced lamb or beef
- 400 g tomatoes
- 1 large onion
- 2 - 3 cloves of garlic
- 200 ml vegetable oil
- salt, pepper mixture, thyme
Bechamel sauce:
- 500 ml milk
- 50 g butter
- 2.5 tbsp. l. with a heap of flour
- 1 bay leaf
- salt, pepper, nutmeg
COOKING METHOD:
1. To prepare Greek moussaka, cut the eggplants into rings 7–8 mm thick, place in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Leave the eggplants for 30 minutes, then rinse with cold water and dry on paper towels.
This procedure is necessary to remove the bitter taste from eggplants.
2. In a large frying pan, heat 3 - 4 tbsp. l. vegetable oil and place the eggplant slices in one layer. Fry over medium heat for 3 – 5 minutes until golden brown. 
3. Turn the eggplants over and brown the other side, then place them on a paper towel to remove excess fat. Fry the remaining eggplants in the same frying pan, adding vegetable oil as needed.
When frying, eggplants absorb a lot of oil, so you have to add it quite often, otherwise they won’t brown. It took me about 180 ml of vegetable oil to fry all the eggplants. Fortunately, not all of it will end up in the finished dish.
4. While the eggplants are frying, let's prepare the meat filling for the moussaka. To do this, peel the onion and cut into thin half rings, chop the garlic as finely as possible. 
5. Cut the tomatoes crosswise in the area of the stalk, put them in a deep bowl, put them in the sink and pour boiling water over them. After 2 - 3 minutes, place the bowl under the stream cold water and, when the tomatoes have cooled, peel them, starting from the stem area. 
6. Chop the peeled tomatoes small cubes.
Advice! IN winter season instead of fresh tomatoes better use canned tomatoes in its own juice.
7. Heat 2 tbsp in a frying pan. l. vegetable oil (preferably olive) and fry the onion and garlic over medium heat for 8 - 10 minutes until golden brown. 
8. Add chopped meat and cook for 5 - 7 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up lumps with a spatula, until all the minced meat loses its bright red color.
Traditionally, Greek moussaka is made from minced lamb, but it can easily be replaced with the more familiar minced beef or veal.
9. Add salt, spices and chopped tomatoes to the minced meat and cook over medium heat for 10 - 15 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. 
10. While the minced meat is stewing, let's prepare the bechamel sauce for the moussaka. To do this, grate Parmesan cheese on a fine grater. 
11. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add flour and fry it for 2 - 3 minutes over low heat while constantly stirring with a whisk. Heat the milk together with the bay leaf in a separate saucepan until almost boiling. 
12. Pour hot milk into the flour and immediately mix everything thoroughly with a whisk. Bring the bechamel sauce to a boil, add salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg and cook for 3 - 5 minutes over low heat until thickened. Add half the grated Parmesan to the sauce and mix everything well with a whisk. 
13. Now you can start assembling the Greek moussaka. Place rings in a thick layer on the bottom of the baking dish. fried eggplant and lightly salt. I had a square glass mold 20 x 20 cm. 
14. Place half of the meat filling on the eggplants and spread over the entire surface. 
15. Place about a third of the bechamel sauce on top. 
16. Next, add another layer of eggplant and the remaining minced meat. 
17. Place the last layer of eggplants, pour bechamel sauce over them thickly and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. 
18. Bake the moussaka in an oven preheated to 180°C for 40 minutes until the cheese crust is golden brown. 
The finished dish should be cooled in the mold for 10 - 15 minutes so that it does not fall apart when cutting, after which it can be served along with fresh vegetables and greens. Hearty, aromatic and incredibly tasty Greek moussaka is ready! 
Greek moussaka is a dish that is quite high in calories and difficult to digest due to the large amount of fat. However, it can be made much easier and more dietary if you take into account the following recommendations:
1. Bake the eggplants in the oven or fry in a grill pan, greasing them first minimum quantity olive oil.
2. Prepare minced meat yourself from lean lamb or veal.
3. Reduce the amount of bechamel sauce by 2 times and use it only for the top layer of moussaka.
4. Use a small amount of cheese just to sprinkle on top.
Eggplant moussaka - perfect tasty dish for a feast in big company. Prepare for everyone at once and serve the whole thing on a large baking sheet.
One of the Greek film actors expressed the idea that every word has Greek origin. Considering that the first cookbooks appeared, as is commonly believed, in Greece before our era, then about the origin culinary dishes they think the same.
But the traditional Greek moussaka, which is prepared like a casserole with layers of eggplant alternating with layers of lamb and tomatoes, then covered in white sauce and baked, can hardly be considered an ancient dish. The reason is simple: eggplant comes from India, where it grows wild, and was domesticated just over 1,500 years ago.
Eggplants were first grown in Asia and China, then they were brought by the Arabs (al-badhinjan) to Africa and the Mediterranean. With the advent of tomatoes, one of the most popular dishes become .
But, be that as it may - moussaka, a casserole with thin slices of eggplant layered with minced meat (usually lamb or pork), with a sauce of tomatoes and vegetables, sometimes with a golden baked crust on top. This is exactly what eggplant moussaka looks like.
Moussaka recipes differ from each other depending on the country in which it is prepared. But baked eggplants are included in almost any recipe. Let's prepare moussaka the same way they cook it in Turkey, but from pork. Eggplant moussaka, cooked in a large baking dish, can be the centerpiece of the dish have a nice feast.
Eggplant moussaka. Step by step recipe Ingredients (4 servings)- Eggplants 5-6 pcs
- Onion 2 pcs
- Tomatoes 6-8 pcs.
- Meat (pork, beef) 0.5 kg
- Bell pepper 3 pcs
- Vegetable oil 50 ml
- Salt, ground black pepper, dried Mediterranean herbs to taste
Fresh young vegetables for moussaka
Pork for moussaka
Cut the eggplants into slices
Remove seeds from pepper and cut into thin rings
Fry onions in vegetable oil
Add minced meat and simmer covered
Place half of the eggplants on the bottom of the pan.
Place minced meat on top
Arrange peppers and tomatoes
Arrange all the remaining baked eggplant slices
Add all the remaining minced meat
Arrange a few slices of tomato and sweet pepper rings
A hearty, multi-layered dish baked in the oven - Greek masaka with eggplant! Cook at home!
In Greece, moussaka is served in both inexpensive cafes and luxury restaurants. But to try this one delicious casserole It is not at all necessary to go somewhere; the proposed recipe with photos is as close as possible to the classic Greek one and can easily be used at home. To prepare you will need eggplants, some potatoes, minced lamb and the traditional filling - Bechamel sauce. And of course, almost no Greek dish is complete without cheese and olive oil. Vegetables for casserole can be pre-fried or baked in the oven - do what you like best. In the first version, olive oil is used to lubricate the pan, in the second - vegetables.
- 3 eggplants (600-700 g);
- 4 large potato tubers (600-700 g);
- 3 small tomatoes (300 g);
- 1 small onion (300 g);
- 500 g minced lamb or pork and beef;
- 200 g mozzarella;
- 100 ml. dry red wine;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- salt, pepper to taste;
- cinnamon stick;
- a few mint leaves;
- extra virgin olive oil.
For the Bechamel sauce:
- 1 l. milk;
- 100 g butter;
- 3 tbsp. flour;
- a pinch of nutmeg;
- 0.5 tsp Provençal herbs.
Cut the washed eggplants into slices about half a centimeter thick.
Salt and leave for 20-30 minutes so that the pieces release juice, which will remove all the bitterness from the eggplant.
Cut the potatoes into slices approximately the same thickness as the eggplants.
Place the potatoes on a baking tray lined with baking paper and lightly spray olive oil and bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees. It should become soft and brown a little on top.
We make cuts in the skin of the tomatoes to make it easier to remove.
Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and leave for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, finely chop the onion.
Place the onion in a frying pan with heated olive oil and sauté until half cooked.
Add the minced meat to the onion and break it up with a spatula, then mix with the onion.
You can now remove the skin from the tomatoes. Cut the fruits into small cubes.
The minced meat set and meat juice began to come out.
It's time to add tomatoes to the minced meat.
Pour in red wine.
Add spices: mint and cinnamon stick.
Add water and simmer over low heat.
Wash the eggplants and squeeze out the juice, dry with paper towels.
We also bake the eggplants until soft (about 20 minutes), brushing a little olive oil on top.
No moussaka is complete without Bechamel sauce. Interestingly, the origin of the fill is not Greek, but French! The preparation of the sauce is described in detail. So, melt half the butter over low heat, add flour and mix immediately. Now add warm milk in small portions, stirring continuously. Add salt and pepper, stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes after boiling. Now turn off the heat, add the remaining oil and cover the pan with a lid until it is completely dissolved. Bechamel is ready. It will thicken a little as it hardens.
Half of the liquid from the pan has evaporated, leaving the minced meat in the sauce. You can take out a cinnamon stick (it has already served its purpose), add squeezed garlic, stir and remove the pan from the stove.
Grate the mozzarella on a fine grater.
We begin to assemble moussaka with potatoes and eggplants. Grease the bottom of the pan with bechamel sauce.
Place a layer of eggplants in the mold, placing the circles tightly to each other.
Place minced meat on top.
Sprinkle with a little cheese.
Place potatoes and cover with sauce.
The next layer is minced meat again.
And again sprinkle with cheese.
Place the remaining eggplants.
Pour in all the remaining sauce and mozzarella. Place the moussaka with eggplant in a preheated oven and bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.
The moussaka was baked and the cheese was nicely browned. You can garnish the Greek casserole with a sprig of mint and serve. Bon appetit!
Moussaka (casserole) - a traditional dish from eggplants in the Balkans and the Middle East. IN different countries have their own original recipes. Classic Greek moussaka is an incredibly tasty dish, reminiscent of Italian lasagna with two types of sauces, but instead of layers of dough, thinly sliced and fried eggplants are placed in it - this is a rather difficult dish to prepare and takes a lot of time. My recipe is a little simpler, but also very tasty.
- minced meat 400-500 gr
- onion 1-2 pcs
- 5 eggplants (medium)
- tomatoes 5 pcs
- eggs 6 pcs
- sour cream 2-3 tbsp.
- cheese 250 gr
- dry provencal herbs
- ground black pepper
- vegetable oil for frying
You will also need a baking dish approximately 38x25 cm with a side height of at least 5 cm.
Tip: you can fry the minced meat and eggplants in advance, for example, in the evening, and bake the moussaka the next day.
Chop the onion and fry it in oil until soft, 5-10 minutes.
Add minced meat to the onion. Fry the minced meat for 10-15 minutes. Stir to break up any meat lumps. Season with salt and pepper. You can add 0.5 cups of dry wine and wait for it to evaporate.
Cut off the stem of the eggplant and peel it. Cut into slices 1-1.5 cm thick.
Take a clean frying pan ( or wash the pan after frying the minced meat).Fry the eggplants in vegetable oil on both sides.
When frying, eggplants absorb a lot of oil, so be prepared for the fact that you will have to add it all the time. You can reduce the amount of oil absorbed by rolling the eggplants in flour before frying.
but it is better to put the fried eggplants in a colander and press lightly so that the excess oil comes out.
Grate the cheese.
Prepare the tomatoes - peel them and cut them into slices. To do this, cut the top of the tomato, place it in a bowl and pour boiling water over it for half a minute. Drain the boiling water, rinse with cold water - now the skin can be easily removed. If the tomato is hard and unripe, keep it in boiling water longer.
It is better to cut tomatoes into round slices. Like this.
Place the fried eggplants in a baking dish, add salt and pepper, and add dry herbs.
Sprinkle eggplant with cheese.
Now fried minced meat.
Sprinkle with cheese.
The last layer is tomatoes, salt, pepper, herbs.
Tip: if you have a deep pan, you can make another layer of fried eggplants - buy more eggplants or choose large fruits.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Beat eggs with sour cream, add a little salt.
You can do this using a blender.
Fill the pan with the whipped mixture.
Bake the moussaka in a preheated oven at 200º C for 35-40 minutes.
The moussaka is ready and smells delicious.
Juicy, tender, with melted cheese inside - it just melts in your mouth! They will definitely ask you for more!
Today I want to offer you something simply incredible delicious recipe classic moussaka with potatoes and eggplant. This dish is very satisfying and its taste is perfect; you can eat several servings of moussaka at a time if you don’t stop in time. Moussaka can easily be presented to guests, believe me, they will definitely appreciate and be grateful to you for such a dish. In addition to potatoes and eggplants, the dish contains Bechamel sauce, minced meat and onions are also fried separately, with the addition of tomato sauce or paste, the collected moussaka is mashed with cheese and cooked in the oven. The process is not very complicated, not too fast, but the result is worth the wait. You can serve moussaka with herbs and fresh vegetables or pickles.
- potatoes – 4-5 pcs.,
- eggplants – 1 pc.,
- onion – 1 pc.,
- minced meat – 400 g,
- tomato paste – 1 tbsp.,
- vegetable oil – 80 ml,
- milk – 400 ml,
- butter – 70 g,
- wheat flour – 1 tbsp.,
- nutmeg, ground black pepper, paprika - to taste,
- hard cheese – 100 g,
- garlic – 2 cloves.
Prepare everything necessary ingredients. Take a frying pan, add a little oil and heat it up. Peel the onions, rinse and cut the onions into cubes, place the onions in a frying pan. Add minced meat to the onion.
Fry the minced meat and onion for 10 minutes, breaking up the minced meat with a spatula as you go. Add tomato paste, a couple of cloves of garlic, cut into small cubes, add a little water, salt, pepper, paprika. Simmer all ingredients until the tomato sauce has evaporated.
Next, prepare the bechamel - melt the butter in a saucepan, add a spoon wheat flour, mix well. After that, pour in the milk in a thin stream and stir constantly with a whisk; the heat on the stove should be moderate.
Boil the bechamel until thick, add a pinch of nutmeg and ground pepper.
Cut the eggplants and fry in vegetable oil.
Prepare the pan for the oven, pour a little bechamel into the pan. Cut the peeled potatoes into slices. Place a third of the potatoes on the sauce. Add salt.
Place the cooked minced meat on top of the potatoes.
Place half of the eggplants on top of the minced meat.
Pour sauce over eggplants. Repeat all layers again - potatoes, minced meat, eggplant.
Make the final layer of potatoes. Grate the cheese on a fine or medium grater and grate the prepared dish with cheese.
Pour the remaining sauce over the moussaka.
Seal the pan and place in the oven. Cook the moussaka at 180 degrees for 45 minutes, then print out the form and brown for another 15 minutes. You can immediately serve the dish to the table.
Bon appetit!
Moussaka with eggplant and minced meat may seem familiar and familiar to you, even though unusual name. However, don't rush to conclusions. Of course, what could be new in baking vegetables with meat in the oven? But the secret is that all the ingredients of the dish are cooked simultaneously and in their own juices. Not a single vegetable or even meat is prepared in advance. Thanks to this, all products retain their beneficial features and natural taste. You can also make this casserole completely vegetarian. This dish is suitable for a diet menu.
If this is your first time encountering a similar dish, then we will tell you how to prepare moussaka with eggplant in the classic Greek way. A step-by-step recipe with photos will clearly demonstrate each of the stages of its preparation at home.
The name of the dish translates as “chilled”. Therefore, very often moussaka is served not as a main course, but as a salad. The secret to the rich taste of the dish lies in a specially prepared sauce, details of which you will learn in the recipe.
Let's start cooking.
- tomato - 3-4 pcs.
- eggplant - 1-2 pcs
- potatoes - 6 pcs
- minced meat - 1 kg
- onions - 2 pcs
- garlic - 2 cloves
- milk - 250 ml
- sour cream - 150 ml
- wheat flour - 2 tbsp.
- butter - 150 g
- vegetable oil - 2 tbsp.
- bay leaf - 1-2 pcs
- fresh herbs - to taste
- ground black pepper - to taste
Prepare all the necessary ingredients and make sure you don't forget anything.
First of all, we will wash and peel the vegetables, if necessary. To rid eggplants of bitterness, cut them into rings and sprinkle with salt. Leave it like this for 20 minutes. After the required time has passed, rinse off the salt under running water and dry the eggplants with a paper towel. Next, take a suitable mold and grease it with oil. The first layer will be eggplants. Peel the onion and cut into rings; it will be the second layer. We also cut the potatoes into rings and place them on top of the onions. The final layer will be tomatoes. Salt and pepper each layer to taste.
Place a thick layer of minced meat on top of the tomatoes. If you did not purchase ready-made minced meat, but fresh meat, then pass it through a meat grinder along with onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper and then lay it in a thick layer on top of the tomatoes.
Place all vegetable layers, except tomatoes, again in the same order. Sprinkle the potatoes generously with spices, herbs and herbs to taste.
Let's prepare the sauce. To do this, heat the frying pan with butter and add flour to it. Cook the mixture for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add milk to the pan and bring to a boil. Add sour cream, salt and pepper. Mix everything thoroughly and heat it up, without bringing it to a boil.
When the sauce is ready, pour it into the form with vegetables and meat.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Place the prepared pan in the oven and cook for 1 hour.
Cool the finished dish and serve. Eggplant moussaka with minced meat is ready.
There are a huge number of recipes for making moussaka; each country in this region prepares it differently. But most importantly, when preparing moussaka it is used great amount spices and herbs, the composition of which is also different in each country. So, if you like to experiment, if you are ready to try different directions in national dishes, our photos step-by-step preparation Moussak is just for you. Cook delicious and appetizing meals with us, delight your loved ones with your culinary delights.
for the base:
- Beef or lamb meat - 500 grams
- Eggplants - 400 grams
- Potatoes - 300 grams
- Tomatoes - 100 grams
- Onion - 100 grams
- Garlic - 2-3 cloves
- Dry red wine – 150 grams
- Egg - 1 piece
- Sunflower oil - 100 grams
- Salt - 20 grams
- Allspice black pepper – 15 grams
- Ground coriander - 10 grams
- Ground thyme - 10 grams
- Ground oregano - 10 grams
for bechamel sauce:
- Butter - 100 grams
- Cheese - 100 grams
- Milk - 250 grams
- Premium flour - 70 grams
- Chicken egg - 1 piece
- Salt - 10 grams
- Allspice black pepper – 10 grams
Rinse the meat under running water and cut into large pieces.
Roll the chopped meat into minced meat. For moussaka it is advisable to use minced meat own production, with it the dish will turn out tender and tasty.
Wash the eggplants, cut them into thin long slices, sprinkle the slices generously with salt. Place in a bowl to let the eggplants release their juice.
Pour sunflower oil into a heated frying pan and add minced meat for frying.
Remove the skin from the onion and chop it finely and thinly.
Place the onion in the frying pan with the minced meat and mix everything.
Wash the potatoes and thinly remove the skin.
Cut the peeled potatoes into slices.
At this point, the eggplants will “give” juice, turn the slices over and check if the juice is released well.
Pour boiling water over the tomatoes; as soon as the skin cracks, remove it and cut it into cubes.
Peel the garlic and finely chop it.
Add chopped tomatoes and garlic to the frying pan with the minced meat. Season the contents of the pan with salt and pepper, mix the minced meat well so that the salt and pepper are evenly distributed.
Pour dry red wine into the minced meat, reduce the gas, cover the pan tightly with a lid, and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Squeeze the juice out of the eggplants.
Grease a baking tray well with sunflower oil, place the eggplants on it, and place in a preheated oven to dry.
All the ingredients for the moussaka are ready, now let’s prepare the bechamel sauce. To do this, put the butter in a saucepan, place it on the burner, and melt the butter.
The butter should not just melt, but boil.
Add flour to the boiling oil.
Whisk the mixture thoroughly to avoid the slightest lumps.
When the flour mixture has cooled slightly, pour milk and black pepper into the saucepan, beat the mixture again and boil for another 1-2 minutes.
Break the egg into the slightly cooled mixture and beat the mixture well.
The moussaka sauce is ready. Let's start preparing the dish.
Grate the cheese on a coarse grater.
Break the egg into the prepared minced meat and mix thoroughly, evenly distributing it over the entire amount of minced meat.
Grease the bottom of the baking dish generously with sunflower oil. Place the chopped potatoes in an overlapping shape.
Cover the layer of potatoes with a layer of baked eggplants.
Then place minced meat on top of the eggplant layer and another layer of eggplant.
Sprinkle the eggplants with grated cheese and place a layer of bechamel sauce on top. Place it in an oven preheated to 100 degrees to bake.
After 40 minutes, the Greek moussaka will be golden brown, which means it’s ready.
Serve the moussaka directly in the baking dish; cut into portions directly while hot. It is also customary to serve delicious crunchy food with moussaka. homebaked bread and wine.
Today on our menu is a hearty multi-layered dish - Greek moussaka with eggplant, meat and potatoes. All components after preliminary preparation placed in a mold and simmered in the oven under a thick mixture of Bechamel sauce and cheese, which serves as a kind of lid. Thanks to this sealing, the products beneficially reveal and combine their aromas and tastes, and the final dish turns out rich, soft and incredibly appetizing!
Moussaka is not prepared very quickly, but after tasting, all the effort spent will be fully justified! We choose juicy for the recipe, not at all lean minced meat, meaty tomatoes and high-quality easy-melting cheese. If you do not neglect the recommendations, the dish will turn out delicious and truly impeccable!
- eggplants - 1 kg;
- minced meat - 800 g;
- dry white wine - 180 ml;
- ground cinnamon - 1⁄2 teaspoon;
- potatoes - 500 g;
- fresh tomatoes - 300 g;
- cheese - 50-70 g;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- salt, pepper - to taste;
- vegetable oil (for frying).
For the sauce:
- milk - 800 ml;
- butter - 70 g;
- flour - 50 g;
- cheese - 200 g;
- eggs - 3 pcs.;
- nutmeg - a pinch;
- salt - to taste.
After removing the husk, finely chop the onion. Choose a large, deep frying pan, fry the slices in refined oil until light golden brown.
Add minced meat to the browned onion. We are waiting for the red-pink meat mass will become completely beige. Stir the minced meat periodically, breaking up large pieces with a spatula.
At the same time, we are working on tomatoes - we make a cross-shaped cut on the peel, and then lower the fruits into a container with boiling water. After a couple of minutes, rinse the tomatoes with cold water and separate the steamed skin.
Pour dry wine into the lightened minced meat.
Finely chop the peeled tomatoes or grind them in a blender bowl and add to the meat mixture.
Salt/pepper, add cinnamon, mix the contents of the pan thoroughly. Without covering with a lid, keep the mixture over low heat - completely evaporate the moisture. At this point, the meat component of the dish is ready!
Peel the potatoes and fill them with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes (until half cooked). After draining the liquid, cool the boiled tubers.
Melt butter in a saucepan or rimmed frying pan over low heat. Add flour, fry while stirring for 30-40 seconds.
Add warm milk in small portions, stirring very thoroughly after each added portion. Continuing to stir continuously and intensively, bring the Bechamel to a boil over low heat.
Add nutmeg and finely grated cheese (200 g).
Stir until the cheese shavings are completely melted, add salt to taste.
Transfer to a convenient work bowl and cool the cheese and milk mixture until warm. Add the eggs one at a time, and after each one carefully stir the mixture with a whisk.
It remains to prepare the last component for the Greek multi-layer dish. Cut the eggplants into longitudinal slices about 3 mm thick. If there is a suspicion that the fruits are bitter, sprinkle the slices with salt and let them settle, then rinse the plates with water and dry them.
Lubricate the eggplant strips with vegetable oil on both sides. Fry in a dry frying pan until lightly charred. On average it takes 3-4 minutes per side. Place the finished plates on a paper towel to absorb excess fat.
Let's move on to “assembling” the dish. Cut the potatoes boiled until half cooked into slices 2-3 mm thick. Spread over the bottom of a heatproof dish and lightly sprinkle with salt. We choose a container with high sides, approximately 23x30 cm in size (no less).
Next, distribute the minced meat evenly.
We hide the meat layer under the remains of the eggplants.
The final step is to distribute the sauce.
Greek moussaka is baked for about 30-40 minutes at 180 degrees. About 10-15 minutes before the end of the process, sprinkle the layer of sauce with the remaining cheese, grating with fine shavings.
Serve the dish hot, cutting into portions.
Greek moussaka with eggplant is ready! Bon appetit!
Catch an idea for a hearty and have a delicious dinner- Greek moussaka with eggplant and potatoes. This dish combines everything we love: baked vegetables, juicy minced meat, delicate sauce and delicious melted cheese. This is beautiful homemade dish for the whole family! What could be better?
- Mixed minced meat 1 kilogram
- Onions 3 pieces
- Garlic 3 cloves
- Tomatoes 400 grams or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- Vegetable oil 3 tablespoons
- White wine 150 milliliters
- Salt 1 teaspoon
- Sugar 1 teaspoon
- Ground pepper ½ teaspoon
- Thyme ½ teaspoon
- Oregano ½ teaspoon
- Sweet paprika ½ teaspoon
- Dried parsley ½ teaspoon
- Dried dill ½ teaspoon
- Eggplants 2 pieces (large)
- Potatoes 2 pieces (large)
- Grated cheese 3 tablespoons
- Vegetable oil 100 milliliters
- Salt 1 teaspoon
Bechamel sauce
- Butter 70 grams
- Wheat flour 2 tablespoons
- Yogurt or milk 250 milliliters
- Grated cheese 3 tablespoons
- Eggs 2 pieces
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Wash the eggplants, cut them into slices about 1 centimeter thick, place them in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave to drain to remove the bitter juice. Leave for 15-20 minutes, and then be sure to rinse and dry well.
Melt the butter in a frying pan, stirring constantly.
Add the flour and continue stirring, frying for 1 minute until the mixture is golden brown.
Pour in natural yogurt or milk and mix everything without removing from heat until the sauce becomes homogeneous. Then add the grated cheese and mix everything very well again, heating until the sauce becomes smooth again. Remove from heat after a minute and cool.
Add the eggs to the cooled sauce and mix very well.
You should succeed homogeneous mass without lumps, but with pieces grated cheese, which has already melted considerably.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion, chopped into small cubes, with a pinch of salt until transparent.
Add minced meat, preferably mixed, and continue cooking.
When the minced meat begins to change color, add spices and the remaining salt to it.
Pour in wine and tomato paste or peeled and finely chopped fresh tomatoes.
Simmer everything over medium heat for 30 minutes or until you have a thick meat sauce. By the way, with fresh tomatoes It turns out tastier and more aromatic than with tomato paste.
Peel the potatoes, cut into thin pieces and fry in large quantities vegetable oil until golden brown. Fry in batches until you get crispy outside chips. After frying, remove excess oil with paper towels.
Fry the eggplants in the same way as potatoes, in batches and in enough oil. Please note that these vegetables are very greedy for oil.
Be sure to dry the eggplant slices after frying.
Once all the ingredients and sauces are prepared, all that's left is to throw it together and bake. Choose a tall dish and place fried eggplants on its bottom, using half of the vegetables.
Place a layer of meat on top of the eggplants, using half of all the minced meat.
Place potatoes on the meat.
Afterwards there is another layer of minced meat.
And place the remaining eggplants on the meat.
Pour bechamel sauce over everything and sprinkle with grated cheese.
Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 60 minutes. Then remove the mold with moussaka and leave the casserole to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Once the moussaka has cooled, it is easy to cut so that it can be divided into portions.
Greek moussaka with eggplant and potatoes is served as a main course. You can complement it with salad, pickled cucumbers or sour cream, natural yoghurt. It's delicious and hearty dish for every day, relevant both in summer and winter. Bon appetit!
Moussaka with a delicious crust.
- Minced meat – 500 g
- Eggplants – 600 g
- Potatoes – 500 g
- Tomatoes – 400 g
- Onions – 2 heads
- Garlic – 2 cloves
- Dried thyme – 1 teaspoon
- Milk – 1 glass
- Egg – 3 pcs.
- Cheese – 100 g
- Vegetable oil – 6 tbsp. spoons
- Salt, ground black pepper - to taste
Wash the potatoes, peel them, cut them into circles and cook for 5 minutes in salted water. Drain in a colander and let the water drain.
Wash the eggplants, cut them lengthwise into slices and fry in vegetable oil on both sides.
Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, peel them and cut into thin slices.
Peel onions and garlic. Chop the onion and lightly brown in vegetable oil.
Add minced meat and simmer over medium heat for 20-25 minutes.
Add the pressed garlic and season with salt, pepper and thyme. Add tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.
Beat milk with eggs, salt and pepper. Add cheese shavings and stir.
Place minced meat, eggplants and potatoes in layers in a greased baking dish, add salt and pepper. Pour the resulting mixture over the moussaka and place in the oven.
Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.
Bon appetit.
- Minced meat - 250-300 g
- Potatoes (medium) - 2 pcs.
- Eggplant (medium) - 2 pcs
- Bell pepper - 1 piece
- Onion - 1 piece
- Tomato - 1 piece
- Tomato paste - 1 tbsp. l.
- Dutch cheese (or any other durum varieties) - 100-150 g
- Black pepper
- Vegetable oil
- Garlic - 1 tooth.
Cut the eggplants into slices, add salt, leave for 15 minutes. Then rinse and dry. Fry in vegetable oil on both sides.
Also cut the potatoes into slices and fry on both sides.
Finely chop the onion and garlic and fry.
Add minced meat. Grate the tomato, add to the onion and minced meat, mix well.
Add tomato paste, pepper and salt. mix. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Cut the pepper into cubes and lightly fry.
Place in the mold in layers: potatoes - eggplants - peppers - minced meat sauce and tomato.
Sprinkle with coarsely grated cheese.
Bake for 30-40 minutes. in the oven at 180 degrees.
Bon appetit!
Moussaka is a dish of eastern peoples. In Moldova, Bulgaria, Greece - each of these countries has its own options for its preparation. Today we have Greek moussaka with eggplant. The classic recipe for this dish consists of layers of eggplant, minced meat and tomatoes, seasoned with white sauce and baked in the oven. The classic moussaka recipe with the photo, which you will see below, also contains potatoes, which is also an acceptable option for this dish.
But as white sauce we took kefir-cheese sauce instead of the more common Bechamel sauce. This addition allowed this dish to become lighter, because we did not use either flour or butter, as in the Bechamel sauce. The taste of the finished dish is not noticeable at all.
- Eggplants – 1.5 kg.
- Boiled potatoes – 1 kg.
- Tomatoes – 800 g.
- Cheese – 200 g.
- Minced meat – 400-500 g.
- Onion – 1 pc. large
- Garlic – 4-5 cloves
- Kefir – 250 ml.
- Eggs – 3 pcs.
- Salt, pepper - to taste
- Vegetable oil - for frying.
First, let's prepare the necessary ingredients. Minced meat for moussaka is usually made from lamb, but if you don’t have this product, you can replace it with beef or minced pork and beef. Potatoes must not be boiled until fully cooked, otherwise they will disintegrate, and in the finished dish they can turn into mashed potatoes, but we need crispy slices.
Cut the eggplants into circles or lengthwise into thin slices. Season with salt, lightly knead with your hands and leave for 20 minutes.
While excess bitterness comes out of the eggplant, finely chop the garlic.
Also finely chop the onion.
Sauté onions and garlic for small quantity vegetable oil.
Add minced meat and fry it along with onion and garlic. Salt and pepper. Ready minced meat set aside for now.
Rinse the eggplants with cold water. The water will be dark - this is the release of substances that cause bitterness. Place the eggplants on kitchen towel and dry - otherwise they will “shoot” when frying.
Fry the eggplants on both sides in vegetable oil.
A little trick: if you haven’t dried the eggplants enough and they still “shoot” a lot, try putting them first in a dry, heated frying pan and adding oil after a minute. During this time, the water will evaporate and will not produce such an effect.
Prepare the sauce. Classic Greek moussaka, we provide a step-by-step recipe with photos here, often contains Bechamel sauce, but we will replace it without “loss” in taste and benefits. "Béchamel" - thick sauce, and we will also make its kefir “substitute” thick.
To do this, divide the eggs into yolks and whites.
Beat the yolks with kefir, pepper and add a little salt.
Beat the whites into a strong foam with a pinch of salt. You need to beat the whites with a mixer, thoroughly washed of the yolks and with dry whisks, this is the only way they will beat well.
Grate the cheese on a fine grater.
Mix the cheese and yolk-kefir mixture, carefully fold in the whipped whites.
Cut the potatoes into slices.
Also cut the tomatoes into slices.
Now that we have all the ingredients ready, it's time to assemble our moussaka. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet (preferably non-stick or lined with foil), greased with oil.
Place half of the fried eggplants on top of the potatoes.
Brush half of the sauce over the eggplants.
Place the minced meat on the sauce.
An appetizing aroma is already spreading through the house - moussaka with minced meat and eggplant is ready, the recipe with a photo of which we showed you. It is better to serve it hot. Bon appetit!
