Adapted from recipe by Kenton and Jane Kotsiris of www.lemonandolives.com
Prep time: 40 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 1 hour 10 mins
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
*Ingredients available at the farmers’ market
- 1 medium eggplants*, peeled and cut lengthwise into ½ inch thick slices
- 1 lb ground beef*
- ½ onion*, chopped
- 1½ tsp tomato paste
- ½ cup red wine*
- 1 cup feta*
- ¼ cup bread* crumbs
- 2 cloves crushed garlic* (to preference)
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- Cinnamon
- -Bechamel Sauce-
- 2 cups milk*
- 2 tbsp butter*
- ½ cup flour
Instructions
- Take sliced eggplant and place them in a bow with water and salt to soak for 15min.
- Pre-heat oven to 350ºF and take eggplant slices and place them on a baking tray. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in oven for 10-12min, or until tender. Remove and set aside.
- In a large skillet, add olive oil and chopped onions and cook for 5min, or until tender.
- Add beef and brown. Once brown, add: wine, tomato paste, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and garlic.
- Simmer and reduce all liquid.Once reduced, add bread crumbs and feta cheese. Remove from heat.
- Sprinkle bottom of an oiled baking dish with breadcrumbs.
- Line bottom of a dish with ½ of eggplant, cut to make even and make sure entire bottom is covered.
- Add meat mixture on top and spread evenly. Then add remaining eggplant slices to cover the top.
Bechamel Sauce:
Heat milk in a pan. Then add butter and melt. Once, hot – slowly stir in flour. Stir continually over low-med heat until thick. Once thick, remove from heat and pour over eggplant/meat mixture. Spread bechamel evenly over top
- Sprinkle with cinnamon and feta
- Bake for 30min at 350ºF, until golden brown
Notes
Moussaka is an interesting dish. It can be made many different ways. Some people substitute eggplant for potatoes or zucchini. The specific blend of herbs is even debated and or changed. If anything, use this as a base and experiment. You’ll get it different ways depending on where you have it in Greece. So make it your own!
