Traditional Moussaka

Kastra Recipes Staff

Moussaka is a casserole made with eggplants, potatoes, beef or lamb mince meat and topped off with a creamy bechamel sauce.

Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 1

Total Time 2 30

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek

Servings 8 people

Calories 465 kcal

Remove the stalks from the eggplants and cut them into slices, 1 cm (3/4 inch) thick. Season with salt and place in a colander for about half an hour.
Rinse the eggplants with plenty of water, pat them dry and fry in plenty of oil, until nicely colored. Place the fried eggplants on some paper, in order to absorb the oil. (For a lighter version of the traditional Greek moussaka try drizzling the eggplants with some olive oil and bake them for 20 minutes instead of frying them). Set aside when done.
Peel the potatoes cut them into slices 0.5 cm (1/2 inch) thick.
Pat dry the potatoes and fry in plenty of oil, until nicely colored. Place the fried potatoes on some paper, in order to absorb the oil. (For a lighter version of the traditional Greek moussaka try drizzling the potatoes with some olive oil and bake them for 20 minutes instead of frying them). Set aside when done.
Note: If you decide to bake instead of fry, cut the eggplant and the potato slightly thicker, they tend to shrink a bit in the oven.

Heat a large pan to medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the mince breaking it up with a wooden spoon and sauté. Stir in the chopped onions, add the garlic and tomato paste and sauté. Pour in the red wine to deglaze the pan and allow the alcohol to evaporate. Add the passata, the spices and a good pinch of salt and pepper and mix. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes or until most of the juices have evaporated. Set aside when done.

Heat the millk and add the nutmeg, warm not boiling, Set aside when done.
Use a large pot and place the olive oil over low-medium heat. Add the flour whisking continuously to make a paste, cook it a bit until there is a nutty aroma. Depending on your stove, it should take 2 -3 minutes while you are constantly whisking. Next, with a ladle, add warm milk in a steady stream; keep whisking in order to prevent your sauce from getting lumpy, make sure pot is over low heat. Its consistency should resemble a thick cream.
Remove the béchamel pot from the stove and stir in the egg yolks, salt, pepper, and most of the graviera cheese. Reserve some cheese to sprinkle on top of the casserole. Whisk quickly, in order to prevent the eggs from turning into an omelette! Make sure cheese is melting. Place pot back on low-medium heat for just about 5 minutes or when you see the first bubbles in the pot. Continue stirring. Take off heat. Take one ladle of béchamel and stir it in the meat sauce. Set the béchamel sauce aside.

For this moussaka recipe you will need a large baking dish, (approx. 25x32 cm or 9x13 inch and 8cm / 3 inch deep). Oil the bottom and sides of the pan and layer the potatoes first, then add half the quantity of the eggplants. Pour in all of the meat sauce and spread it out evenly. Add a second layer of eggplants, top with all of the béchamel sauce and smooth out with a spatula.
Sprinkle with the remaining graviera cheese. Preheat your oven at 180C/350F and bake your moussaka for about 60 minutes or until its crust turns light golden brown. Even though it will be really hard to do so, you should wait for the moussaka to cool down. Should be warm to the touch before cutting into pieces. This will prevent the béchamel sauce from pouring out when you’re cutting your pieces.
Serve the Moussaka with a refreshing Traditional Greek Salad and enjoy over a glass of wine.

Keyword mousssaka, traditional greek moussaka recipe