Mediterranean cooking: Moussakas

A delicious national dish from Greece!

Serves: 1 baking dish Preparation time: 20m Cooking time: 2h Ready in: 2h 40m



Ingredients
6 eggplants
Olive oil for frying
For the minced beef sauce
700g. minced beef
1 large onion, grated
1 glass of white wine
A shot of olive oil
2 tablespoon of tomato paste
5 allspice berries
6 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
For the béchamel sauce
6 tablespoons butter
8 tablespoons flour
800ml milk
3 eggs
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 cup finely grated Kefalotiri or any other hard and salty cheese
Salt and pepper
Preparation method
Step 1
Cut the eggplants into thick slices 1 cm thick, salt them and place them in a strainer for ½ hour.
Step 2
Rinse them with plenty of water and drain them with your hand.
Step 3
Dry, then fry them in olive oil until browned. Put them onto absorbent paper to strain their juices.
Step 4
Prepare the ground beef. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the chopped onion and garlic. Add the minced meat and cook stirring continuously until it turns into little grains. Add the wine. Dissolve the tomato paste in a little water and pour over the meat. Add the allspice, the parsley, salt and pepper. Allow the mixture to be cooked until the water has evaporated.
Step 5
Prepare the béchamel sauce. Heat the fresh butter in a saucepan, add the flour and cook until browned. Then, pour the hot milk, stirring continuously to prevent clumping. Once the sauce thickens, remove from heat and add the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add the grated cheese and stir. Pour the eggs and stir quickly until absorbed in the mixture. Leave aside.
Step 6
Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Place half the fried eggplants at the bottom of the baking dish. Add the minced meat on top and straighten all over. Make a second layer with the remaining eggplant. Pour the béchamel. Straighten with a knife and sprinkle with a little grated cheese.
Step 7
Put the pan in the oven for about 1 hour until top forms a golden crust.
Before you cut it into pieces, let the moussaka stand for half an hour.
Source: Olive magazine
Photo: George Drakopoulos 
Food Styling: Tina Webb