The one and only, the king of all the dishes... finally in this blog: Moussaka! Not so simple recipe, I admit it, but still soooooOOOOO delicious!!!As you can find various versions that circulate on the internet, find today the most classic recipe which is the traditional greek one that is cooked at a greek home. Do not expect though to find the exact same one in a restaurant, even in Greece, as it quite tiresome the procedure.
So, the next time that someone is inviting you and propose moussaka, take it as a big treat! Unless you decide to cook it yourself, that's the only way that you can try the real moussaka.
The moussaka in the photos has been done while running up and down to the school of my kids, so it is not the best that I have done, but the taste is still unbeatable :)
So, lesson no1: Do it a day that you have plenty of time ...
Actually, there are 2 versions of moussaka in Greece, one with several vegetables, like I am cooking today here, and the other one using only eggplants. My mother is using only eggplants, so for me this is the best one :) but in order to cover both cases I am showing the first version.
The procedure is similar to the pasticcio, only that you replace pasta with vegetables, mostly eggplants.
The dish is made from layers of fried vegetables that you alternate with sauce bolognese and finish on top with a bechamel sauce (white sauce).
Tip: If you want to gain time, make the tomato sauce days ago and store it in the freezer. Fry the vegetables the night before and let them take out the excess of the frying oil in a kitchen paper.
Ingredients
grated cheese (what ever you have available or like, here emmental and parmigiano )
Tomato sauce (Bolognese sauce)
700gr sliced meat of veal (I use actually half-half with porc but I insist on veal and not beef, trust me...)
3 red tomatoes or 1 can of tomatoes (have to be of excellent quality to have a tasty sauce!)
olive oil
garlic, onion, salt, pepper, parsley
Vegetables
2-3 eggplants
2-3 zucchini
3-4 potatoes
salt, frying oil
White sauce (Bechamel)
1 lt of milk
6-7 spoons of flour
salt, white pepper
2 spoons of butter
2 eggs
Procedure
You need to cook 3 things: a tomato sauce, fry the vegetables and white sauce (bechamel).
First start with the tomato sauce. Put in a casserole some olive oil, the sliced meat and the sliced garlic and onion. Fry them in high temperature and when done, add the sliced tomatoes, salt, pepper, sliced parsley and 1 cup of water. Cover and let simmer for about 30-40min or until you have a nice thick sauce.
In parallel, peel, wash, slice and salt the vegetables. Start frying them slightly little by little in a deep frying pan leaving the eggplants for the end and take them out in kitchen paper to absorb the excess of oil.
When done with frying, prepare the white or bechamel sauce. Put the milk in a small casserole and add the flour, salt, pepper, white pepper in low fire. Stir continuously until it starts to thicken. Take it out of fire and add first the butter and then the beaten eggs. Mix well.Add 2-3 spoonfuls of the bechamel and some grated cheese in the tomato sauce and mix.
Once you have all 3 parts, grease a deep baking dish and start assembling them.Start with the potatoes that you put all over the bottom and add here and there some of the other vegetables.
Next, create a thick layer with the tomato sauce on top of the vegetables. You empty almost all the sauce except of 4-5 spoonfuls. Continue by creating a new layer on top adding the rest of the vegetables.
Finish by emptying on top the white sauce. Sprinkle some grated cheese and cook in the oven at 180 degrees of Celsius for about 20-30min or until it gets a nice golden color.
Invite your very best friends and share! Serve with a nice fresh green salad...
In France, where I actually live, that make "poisson d'avril" (april's fish) and kids try to fool someone by sticking a paper-fish in their back. I prefer this custom by far, not to say that I really enjoy it :)