Traditional Greek Moussaka

Serves: 10 servings
Time: 70 min.
Difficulty: medium

Nutritional value
KJ KCAL Proteins (g) Fat (g) Carbohydrates (g)
1 portion/370g 1875,6 447,7 16,1 37,4 8,5
Preparation

Start with eggplants. Remove the stalks from the eggplants and cut them into slices, 1 cm thick. Season with salt and place in a colander for about half an hour. Rinse the eggplants with plenty of water and squeeze with your hands, to get rid of the excessive 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 aubergines with some olive oil and bake them for 20 minutes instead of frying them). Prepare the meat sauce for the moussaka. Heat a large pan to medium -high heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the chopped onions and sauté, until softened and slightly colored. Stir in the garlic, tomato puree and the mince breaking it up with a wooden spoon and sauté. Pour in the red wine and wait to evaporate. Add the tinned tomatoes, the sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, 1 bay leaf and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes, until most of the juices have evaporated. Prepare the béchamel sauce for the moussaka. Use a large pan to melt some butter over low-medium heat. Add the flour whisking continuously to make a paste. Add warmed milk in a steady stream; keep whisking in order to prevent your sauce from getting lumpy. If the sauce still needs to thicken, boil over low heat while continuing to stir. Remove the pan from the stove and stir in the egg yolks, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and the grated cheese. Whisk quickly, in order to prevent the eggs from turning an omelette! Assemble the moussaka. For this moussaka recipe you will need a large baking dish, approx. 20*30 cm). Butter the bottom and sides of the pan and layer the eggplants. Pour in the meat sauce and even out. Add a second layer of eggplants, top with the béchamel sauce and smooth out with a spatula. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake the moussaka in preheated oven at 180-200C for about 60 minutes, until crust turns light golden brown. Even though it will be really hard.. you should wait for the moussaka to cool down for a while before cutting into pieces. Serve the Moussaka with a nice refreshing Greek Salad.

Ingredients
_ 6 big eggplants
_ vegetable oil (for frying the eggplants)
_ For the meat sauce
_ 750g minced beef or lamb
_ 2 red onions (chopped)
_ 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
_ 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400g)
_ 2 tbsp tomato puree (40g)
_ 1 teaspoon sugar (20g)
_ 1 glass of red wine (200ml)
_ 20g sea salt
_ 15g freshly ground black pepper
_ 1 bay leaf
_ a pinch of cinnamon
_ 1/4 of a cup olive oil (40ml)
_ For the béchamel sauce
_ 900ml milk (3 and 1/2 cups)
_ 120g butter
_ 120g flour
_ a pinch of nutmeg
_ 2 egg yolks (30g)
_ 100g Kefalotyri or aged kaskavali
_
Before proceeding in preparation of the dishes, please consult with EFSA on advice and regulation.