Comforting classic moussaka recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the top layer of moussaka made of? ›

Moussaka (Greek Eggplant Lasagna)

A traditional recipe for an iconic Greek dish from a wonderful cookbook called The Food And Cooking Of Greece by Sara Nassopoulos. Layers of soft eggplant, rich beef or lamb filling lightly spiced with oregano and cinnamon, topped with a thick layer of bechamel sauce.

Many wonder what the difference is between moussaka and lasagna, and it's quite simple! Lasagna is made with layers of pasta, while moussaka is made with layers of vegetables. There are variations of eggplant moussaka, some use potatoes or even zucchini squash.

To prevent the moussaka from being watery, make sure to lay the eggplant on a paper towel, sprinkle lightly with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle over the remaining parmesan and gruyère. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/160C Fan/Gas4 for 50-60 minutes, until bubbling and golden. Allow the moussaka to settle for 5 minutes before cutting into squares and serving. Serve the moussaka with a chunky tomato, cucumber, parsley and mint salad and crusty bread.

A classic family-friendly dish from the Mediterranean, moussaka is classic comfort food, which we happily eat all year round. It consists of layers of pan-fried eggplant, a thick, rich lamb-tomato sauce, and a topping of deliciously creamy bechamel sauce.

Fun fact: The difference between the Bulgarian and the Greek Moussaka is that we use the potatoes and not the eggplants. ← Lemon Potatoes – A great Greek dish!

It adds a wonderful texture and flavour to the lasagna. We have received requests to make our lasagna without the egg because it just seems so foreign to some people. That's no problem. We don't mind omitting it; but, if you enjoy authentic food, I would encourage you to give it a chance.

moussaka, dish of baked lamb and eggplant prepared throughout the Balkans and Middle East but most closely associated with Greece and Turkey. In the Greek version, eggplants are sliced and fried lightly in olive oil and then layered in a casserole with a mixture of ground lamb, onions, tomato sauce, and seasonings.

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Measure the spices and tomato paste, and have the beef and tomatoes on hand. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and gently cook the onions until translucent and start to turn golden, about 8-10 minutes.

Also, be sure your meat sauce is not too wet. Unlike pasticcio or lasagna, there is not a layer of pasta to help soak up wetter sauce. Cook the sauce down until it is mostly crumbled meat. The eggs and bread crumbs will help thicken it a bit after it's done cooking.

What if my moussaka is too runny? ›

Let the béchamel bubble for a few minutes to help cook out the flour, then add in the rest of the ingredients for the sauce. By now the sauce should have a thick custard like consistency. If it is still too runny, cook for a little longer until thickened.

It is consumed at room temperature or slightly warm (not hot). The Arabic version of Moussaka is eaten cold while the Balkans version involves a layered dish this is served hot. Moussaka comes from the Greek 'mousakás', Arabic 'musaqqa'ah' or the Turkish 'musakka', all of which mean 'chilled'.

A red wine

It is always advisable to pair a dish with a wine from its region of origin . A Greek or Rhone red will be perfect to accompany a moussaka.

Complete your glorious Greek meal with wine from indigenous grapes, such as Saint George, also known as agiorgitiko, or xinomavro; or try the moussaka with zinfandel or gamay Beaujolais. This moussaka can be prepared to the point of baking, then refrigerated overnight.

Moussaka cuisine takes its name from the Arabic word musaqqa'ah. The word means cold or dipped in liquid. Greek and Turkish foodies adopted the name when the Arabs introduced it to the Mediterranean. Turks and Greeks may have agreed on this Arabic name because moussaka is best served warm or cold.

In its purest form, béchamel is comprised of butter and flour that have been cooked together (a mixture that's also known as a roux) and milk, with just a bit of seasoning. The result is a silky cream sauce that can be used either on its own or as the base for countless other sauces.

Moussaka is a traditional Greek eggplant casserole made with baked or pan fried eggplants (aubergines) and potatoes, a rich, tomatoey beef or lamb mince sauce and topped off with a deliciously creamy bechamel sauce. In other words, the ultimate comfort food.

The English name for moussaka was borrowed from Greek mousakás (μουσακάς) and from other Balkan languages, all borrowed from Ottoman Turkish, which in turn borrοwed it from Arabic muṣaqqa'a (مصقعة, lit. 'pounded' or 'cold'). The word is first attested in English in 1862, written mùzàkkà.

It was the Arab Immigrants, which introduced moussaka to Greece and Turkey in outdoor dining areas. In the 1920s, Nikolaus Tselementes, a well-known Greek chef and recipe writer, developed what is now the Greek version of moussaka. He invented the layers and recommended the use of bechamel sauce.