Get Your Greek On!
The habit of Greeks to share a meal with friends at home, in a restaurant or in a simple tavern is deeply rooted in their social practice. I would like to think there is a little Greek in all of us!
Five years ago we were lucky enough to travel to Greece with friends and family and share in many a fine meal and discover the art and culture of exceptional Greek cuisine.
Today we shall attempt to create the Moussaka at home and happy to share with anyone who needs a hot meal, friend or family!
Comfort food, Greek-style!
Moussaka is layers of eggplant, potatoes, and a spiced meat sauce nestled in between.
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Ingredients
2 large eggplants, sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch-thick slices, end slices discarded
Salt
Olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 lb ground lamb (or beef)
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp hot paprika
1/2 cup red wine
1 14 oz can diced tomato
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup hot beef broth
2 large russet potatoes, peeled, very thinly sliced lengthwise
water
4 tbsp dried bread crumbs -
Cheese Topping
3/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt
3 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
1 tbsp allpurpose flour
1/2 cup ricotta or cream cheese
3 oz crumbled feta cheese
To prepare the cheese topping, whisk the Greek yogurt with the eggs and flour. Add the ricotta and feta cheese and whisk again to combine. -
The Layers
It is a little time consuming but well worth it!
Layer the eggplant slices on the bottom. Add the meat sauce and spread to cover the eggplant. Layer the potato slices to cover the meat sauce and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Finally spread the cheese topping to thinly cover the potatoes.
Bake in the 350 F degree-heated oven for 45 minutes. If you need to, transfer the baking pan to the top rack and broil briefly so that the top of the moussaka gains a nice golden brown color.
Instructions
- Nov. 4, 2017
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How to put it all together!
Spread the eggplant slices in one layer and sprinkle with salt. Let set for 30 minutes.
Pat the eggplant slices dry and assemble in one layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Place the baking sheet on the top oven rack and broil briefly, turning over so that both sides of the eggplant are softened and golden brown (do not worry if parts of the eggplant are slightly charred but not burnt.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Cook the onions on medium heat until they turn slightly golden brown. Now add the ground beef. Cook the beef until fully browned, tossing regularly. Drain the beef from any excess fat and return back to the skillet. Now add the dried oregano, ground cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and hot paprika. Stir to coat the meat with the spices. Add the wine and boil for 1 minute to reduce. Stir in the canned tomatoes, sugar and broth. Simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In the meantime, boil the sliced potatoes in plenty of water until they are completely soft and easily breakable (about 5-7 minutes). Drain the water and set the potatoes aside briefly.
With much crazy hungry love,
Raymond
Great idea will try