Greek Moussaka
Description
This recipe calls for béchamel sauce. I recommend serving this dish with tzatziki sauce. It’s hard to put into words what moussaka is like—there’s nothing quite like it in Russian cuisine. Overall, though, it’s a very tasty dish; the combination of vegetables, ground meat, spices, and sauces is simply wonderful. One of my favorite dishes :) You can serve it warm or chilled.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients.
- 2
Step 2
Cut the eggplant into rounds. Salt each side and let rest for 20 minutes.
- 3
Step 3
Peel the potatoes and slice them into rounds, salt them, and fry in a skillet on each side.
- 4
Step 4
Place in a deep baking dish as the bottom layer.
- 5
Step 5
Peel and chop the onion. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and sauté the onion over low heat until softened.
- 6
Step 6
Remove the seeds from the pepper, chop it, and add it to the skillet with the onion. Mix everything together and cook for 5 minutes.
- 7
Step 7
Increase the heat, add the minced meat, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- 8
Step 8
Add the chopped tomatoes (or 2 tbsp tomato paste), season with salt and pepper, and mix everything together.
- 9
Step 9
Cook for 15 minutes. Then add fresh herbs (if you have any), mix the ground meat with the vegetables, and spread it in a deep dish on top of the potatoes.
- 10
Step 10
Remove the accumulated liquid from the eggplants; you can blot off the salt with paper towels. Fry them on each side until cooked through.
- 11
Step 11
Arrange the prepared eggplants as the top layer.
- 12
Step 12
Then pour Béchamel sauce over the top layer.
- 13
Step 13
Sprinkle everything with grated cheese.
- 14
Step 14
Place the mold in an oven preheated to 180 °C. Bake for 45–60 minutes.
- 15
Step 15
Then, remove from the oven and let rest for 20–30 minutes. Cut into portions and serve as a main course. Pairs well with tzatziki sauce.