Meaty Moussaka Recipes

MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Lay the slices of eggplant on paper towels, sprinkle lightly with salt, and set aside for 30 minutes to draw out the moisture. Then in a skillet over high heat, heat the olive oil. Quickly fry the eggplant until browned. Set aside on paper towels to drain.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the ground beef, salt and pepper to taste, onions, and garlic. After the beef is browned, sprinkle in the cinnamon, nutmeg, fines herbs and parsley. Pour in the tomato sauce and wine, and mix well. Simmer for 20 minutes. Allow to cool, and then stir in beaten egg.
• To make the bechamel sauce, begin by scalding the milk in a saucepan. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Lower heat; gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly until it thickens. Season with salt, and white pepper.
• Arrange a layer of eggplant in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover eggplant with all of the meat mixture, and then sprinkle 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese over the meat. Cover with remaining eggplant, and sprinkle another 1/2 cup of cheese on top. Pour the bechamel sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the nutmeg. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
• Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

BEEF MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• For the eggplant and meat sauce: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with 1/3 cup olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange on a baking pan and bake, turning once, until tender and golden brown on both sides, about 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring and breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 6 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the cinnamon, allspice and tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the wine and boil until reduced by about half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and oregano and bring to a simmer, then simmer until slightly thickened and the flavors have blended, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• For the bechamel: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly and stopping occasionally to run a rubber spatula around the edges of the pan to prevent burning. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, then simmer 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the goat cheese and Parmesan, whisking until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in the egg yolks.
• Arrange half of the eggplant in a single layer on the bottom of an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Top with half of the meat sauce. Layer the remaining eggplant slices on top followed by the remaining meat sauce. Top with an even layer of bechamel. Place the baking dish on a foil-lined baking pan and bake until bubbling and the topping is golden brown in places, 20 to 30 minutes. Let stand at least 20 minutes, then garnish with the parsley and serve.

BEEF MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Toss the eggplants, potatoes, olive oil, 1/2 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a large bowl, then spread the vegetables on the baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 45 minutes, tossing the vegetables about halfway through. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, make the Meat Sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft and beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste, oregano, cinnamon, garlic and ginger; stir quickly to toast spices evenly. Once fragrant, add 1/2 cup water to the pan and stir to combine, scraping up any brown bits. Add the beef to the pan, stirring with a wooden spoon to break it up, and cook until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook until the meat is fully cooked and the juices are reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley and set aside.
• Make the Bechamel: Put the milk and flour in a small saucepan and whisk until the flour is dissolved. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk continuously until the mixture comes to a boil; continue to whisk until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Remove from the heat and whisk in 3/4 cup of the Parmesan; set aside.
• Assemble the Moussaka: Spray a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the eggplants and potatoes in the bottom of the dish, layer the meat sauce evenly over the vegetables, top with the bechamel and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, until the top is browned and slightly puffed, 35 to 40 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.
• Make-Ahead Tip: The unbaked casserole can be covered and refrigerated overnight before baking. The baked casserole can be frozen for up to 2 weeks; cover with foil and reheat at 350 degrees F until hot, 35 to 45 minutes.

MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Heat a frying pan over a high heat. Drizzle 4 tbsp of the oil over the slices of aubergine and fry them in several batches for 5-7 mins or until golden brown and beginning to soften. If they look a little dry during cooking, add a dash more olive oil. Set aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
• Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the mince and fry for 8-10 mins until a deep golden brown, regularly stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon. Tip into a bowl and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the casserole. Tip in the onion along with a pinch of salt and fry gently for 10-12 mins or until softened and turning translucent. Add the garlic, oregano, cinnamon, chilli and bay cooking for a further min. Return the lamb to the pan and pour in the red wine, bring to a bubble and reduce the wine by half. Stir through the tomatoes, tomato purée and brown sugar, along with 200ml water. Season. Lower the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 20 mins, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened.
• Heat oven to 200C/180 fan/gas 4. Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the potato slices and cook for 6 mins, drain in a colander and leave to steam dry for 10 mins.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan, stir in the flour and cook over a medium heat for 1 min. Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk, pouring in a bit at a time, until smooth. Return to the heat and bring to a simmer, cooking for 3 mins. Remove from the heat and whisk through the parmesan, a little grated nutmeg and some seasoning, and finally the whole egg as well as the yolk.
• Take a large rectangular ovenproof dish. Spoon a third of the meat into the dish and spread out evenly, followed by half the aubergine and half the potato, then the rest of the meat and another layer of aubergines, followed by potatoes. Finish with the béchamel, smoothing the top over with a palette knife. Put in the centre of the oven and cook for 50 mins or until deep golden brown. If it browns too much during cooking, cover the dish. Set aside for 10 mins to cool before serving.

MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• In large, heavy saucepan, heat 1/4 cup oil; saute finely ground meat, onion and garlic until lightly browned; add oregano, basil, cinnamon, salt, ripe olives (if using) and tomato sauce; Cover and simmer slowly about 30 minutes; uncover and simmer slowly another 30 minutes.
• While sauce simmers, prepare Bechamel Sauce (recipe below) and eggplant; cut ends from eggplant (1 large or 2 small) and cut in 1/2-inch-thick slices (if using large, flask-type eggplant, peel the skin off in strips with a vegetable peeler - creating a striped look - with some of the peel left on and some off. If using Japanese-style (the longish, purply-white ones), don't bother to peel at all); Place on a cookie sheet and brush with remaining olive oil; Place under broiler and broil until light brown; Remove from oven, salt lightly, turn eggplant and repeat process; Then position rack in center of oven and heat to 350 degrees.
• There are three ways you can prepare the potatoes for this delicious casserole: 1) shallow-fry potato rounds in olive oil until golden-brown or, 2) for fewer calories, arrange the potato slices in your baking pan, brush lightly with olive oil, bake for 15 minutes, continue with assembly, or 3) if you want to cut calories further, parboil them for 8 minutes; drain well on paper towels.
• To assemble: In 13x9x2-inch baking dish, arrange layer of potatoes, overlapping slightly, season lightly (there will be only one layer of potatoes, so use them all up); next, do a layer of eggplant; sprinkle some Parmesan, kaseri (or cheddar) and bread crumbs over eggplant; layer meat sauce, freshly grated cheeses, crumbs and Bechamel Sauce until all is used; bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees or until flecked golden-brown on top.
• To make Bechamel Sauce: In saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat; whisk in flour and cook slowly until smooth and lightly cooked (2-3 minutes); add salt and remove from heat; add milk, whisking rapidly and return to heat; cook until thick and bubbly, whisking constantly; allow to cool 5 minutes, whisking once in a while to prevent a skin from forming; incorporate eggs and grated cheese with wire whisk to make fluffy sauce.
• Freezer Notes: Once the baked moussaka has completely cooked, cut serving-size pieces, double-wrap in foil and freeze. Defrost in the usual manner and reheat in microwave (or oven) for a delicious, quick meal, when there's little time to cook and dinner is ready and waiting in the freezer!

VEGETARIAN MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Rinse and pat eggplant dry. Cook eggplant and zucchini in hot oil until lightly browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side; remove with a slotted spoon to drain on a paper towel-lined plate, reserving as much oil as possible in the skillet
• Adding more oil to skillet as needed and let it get hot. Cook potato slices in hot oil until browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side; remove with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate, again reserving oil in the skillet.
• Saute onion and garlic in reserved oil until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in vinegar, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium-low; cook until liquid is reduced in volume and thick. Stir in tomatoes, lentils, 1/2 the juice from lentils, oregano and parsley. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes.
• Layer about 1/3 of the eggplant, 1/3 of the zucchini, 1/2 the potatoes, 1/2 the onions, and 1/2 the feta into a 13x9-inch baking dish. Pour tomato mixture over vegetables; repeat layering, finishing with a layer of eggplant and zucchini.
• Cover and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
• Stir butter, flour, and milk together in a small saucepan; bring to a slow boil, whisking constantly until thick and smooth. Season with pepper and nutmeg; stir. Remove from heat, cool for 5 minutes, and stir in beaten egg.
• Pour sauce over vegetables and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for another 25 to 30 minutes.