Eggplant and rice moussaka
Description
Moussaka is a time-consuming and quite caloric dish. Ground meat, béchamel sauce, rice. To make it a bit lighter, I bake the eggplants in the oven instead of frying them.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients.
- 2
Step 2
Boil rice in a 1 to 1.5 ratio in salted water until almost cooked.
- 3
Step 3
Peel the eggplants and cut them lengthwise into 1 cm thick slices. Place them on a baking sheet, lightly brush with vegetable oil, and bake at 180 degrees until tender, about 7-8 minutes. Flip them over halfway through baking. Remove the baking sheet, but keep the oven on.
- 4
Step 4
Fry the minced meat with chopped garlic in a skillet until golden and crumbly.
- 5
Step 5
Add the diced tomatoes and simmer until the tomatoes soften. Season with salt and pepper to taste, pour in the white wine, and cook, stirring, until the wine has evaporated and the meat is tender.
- 6
Step 6
Mix the ground meat with rice, add paprika and thyme. Mix well once again.
- 7
Step 7
In a small saucepan, prepare the béchamel sauce. Warm the milk separately. Place the softened butter in a saucepan, add flour, set over low heat, and stir with a spatula until a thick paste forms. Gradually, while constantly stirring, pour in the hot milk, add salt, and continue stirring until the mixture begins to simmer. Cook over the lowest heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.
- 8
Step 8
Place a layer of eggplant slices in the mold.
- 9
Step 9
Place the meat and rice mixture on top. Level the surface.
- 10
Step 10
Place the remaining eggplants. Pour with sauce.
- 11
Step 11
Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
- 12
Step 12
Let the finished moussaka stand for about 5 minutes.
- 13
Step 13
Then cut into pieces and arrange on plates.
- 14
Step 14
Done.