Moussaka is one of my favorite dishes ever. Seriously, it's easily top five. Like I wouldn't request this as my last meal BUT if I were on Death Row in the Mediterranean, I would. I just don't think any American prison cook could do this dish justice. And clearly the prison system wouldn't be all that adept at justice if I were on Death Row in the first place but that's another discussion.
I would not say this dish is easy but it's not super hard either. It's like a medium effort dish and this is due to the fact that you can't rush it. Don't make this if you only have thirty minutes and you can't focus on the task at hand. I literally told my husband to keep the girls away for a bit and even then, I still messed up and had to start over again.
What did I mess up on a dish that I've made probably twenty times? The bechamel sauce. More on that later.
For now, the ingredients
These were the ingredients that the book used. I ended up not using the recipe in the book and just used my memory.
1 lb ground beef. The recipe in the book called for minced lamb but I don't like lamb. Also, every time I've had moussaka, it's been with ground beef. And it was delicious.
1 eggplant. I chose a small eggplant to reduce the amount of leftovers. When cooking an eggplant, you want to soak it in salt water for no less than thirty minutes before you cook it. This will reduce the acidity/bitterness. You should probably soak it for at least an hour but if you forgot to do so, thirty minutes seems to work just as well. Also, you only have to do this if you've had the eggplant for a few days. If you buy it fresh and use it that same day, you don't need to soak it. The older an eggplant gets, the more bitter it gets. Just like me!
If you don't have an eggplant or don't like eggplant, in which case, who are you (?!) you can use potatoes.
1 onion chopped.
2 tbsp tomato paste. For the first time ever, I was out of tomato paste so I chopped up some tomatoes. It didn't really affect the taste overall but it did make the filling more watery than usual.
1 tsp cinnamon. You can use more if you want, just add to your liking.
2 tbsp parsley.
1 cup cooked white rice. I always use Basmati rice but I'm sure regular white rice is fine too. If you're a savage.
Pre heat your oven to 350.
I took this pic based on the ingredients from the book but after I started chopping veggies, I decided not to use the recipe. The recipe called for Allspice but you don't need to use it.
This next part is easy.
After soaking the eggplant, pan fry for about two minutes on each side in olive oil. Put on a paper towel to drain.
Brown the meat and add the onion, tomato paste, cinnamon, and parsley. Lay a layer of eggplant on a buttered casserole dish and cover with a layer of the meat sauce. Continue until you've used all the eggplant and meat sauce, ending with eggplant. Put aside.
Time for the bechamel sauce!
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup flour
2 cups milk
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp nutmeg
So before you start making this, measure out all your ingredients and have them handy. Don't measure them out as you're making the sauce because you'll end up burning the sauce from the few seconds delay. I know this from experience.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat and slowly stir in the flour a bit at a time. Keep stirring as you're adding the flour. It should start thickening and bubbling a bit. If it doesn't and it turns into clumps, that's okay, it just means you'll have to stir slower in the next step. And for longer.
Slowly pour in the milk and KEEP STIRRING! The sauce will still be thickening, which is a good thing. When I was making it last night, I didn't stir the flour mixture enough and added the milk. It got really clumpy and I got frustrated so I threw it out and started over. So just keep stirring. Pretend you're one of the witches in the first scene of Macbeth. Maybe even sing "Double double, toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble" Add in the parmesan and guess what? You keep stirring. Add in the nutmeg and yep, you are still stirring. When it looks like a fluffy gravy, you're done.
Pour the sauce over the eggplant-meat and give your arms a rest. Actually put it in the oven and then give your arms a rest for thirty minutes while it cooks. Once your arms are relaxed and thirty minutes have passed, take it out of the oven and let it sit for five minutes. Serve with the rice.
The bechamel and final product were the pics I lost. JUST THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES! So annoyed with myself.
I took this pic based on the ingredients from the book but after I started chopping veggies, I decided not to use the recipe. The recipe called for Allspice but you don't need to use it.
This next part is easy.
After soaking the eggplant, pan fry for about two minutes on each side in olive oil. Put on a paper towel to drain.
Brown the meat and add the onion, tomato paste, cinnamon, and parsley. Lay a layer of eggplant on a buttered casserole dish and cover with a layer of the meat sauce. Continue until you've used all the eggplant and meat sauce, ending with eggplant. Put aside.
Time for the bechamel sauce!
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup flour
2 cups milk
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp nutmeg
So before you start making this, measure out all your ingredients and have them handy. Don't measure them out as you're making the sauce because you'll end up burning the sauce from the few seconds delay. I know this from experience.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat and slowly stir in the flour a bit at a time. Keep stirring as you're adding the flour. It should start thickening and bubbling a bit. If it doesn't and it turns into clumps, that's okay, it just means you'll have to stir slower in the next step. And for longer.
Slowly pour in the milk and KEEP STIRRING! The sauce will still be thickening, which is a good thing. When I was making it last night, I didn't stir the flour mixture enough and added the milk. It got really clumpy and I got frustrated so I threw it out and started over. So just keep stirring. Pretend you're one of the witches in the first scene of Macbeth. Maybe even sing "Double double, toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble" Add in the parmesan and guess what? You keep stirring. Add in the nutmeg and yep, you are still stirring. When it looks like a fluffy gravy, you're done.
Pour the sauce over the eggplant-meat and give your arms a rest. Actually put it in the oven and then give your arms a rest for thirty minutes while it cooks. Once your arms are relaxed and thirty minutes have passed, take it out of the oven and let it sit for five minutes. Serve with the rice.
The bechamel and final product were the pics I lost. JUST THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES! So annoyed with myself.
Anyway, as usual, it was amazing! You first taste the nutmeg but it's not as strong because of the cheese. Then the sponginess of the eggplant, which has hopefully absorbed some of the juices. Then the meat sauce. It's a little tangy on its own but mix it with the bechamel sauce and die. Just die right there. Make sure you're wearing a nice outfit for your funeral.
The three year old didn't touch it but she did eat the rice. The one and a half year old ate.it.all. She's clearly the foodie of the two.
First cilantro, now lamb! Lamb is CRAZY delicious.
ReplyDeleteTwo words... "You have to try lamb chops".
Good call on the Basmati rice, it's so much better. I like Jasmine rice too.
#Iwonderwhatitlookedlike #nopicsanditdidnthappen
I feel lamb is too gamey and I've had it at some super nice restaurants so I dont think it's a matter of preparation. I like it in gyros, though, but I think that's because it's typically drowned in tzatziki.
DeleteI'll make it again sometime and have y'all over. It did happen!