Mock Moussaka Pie Recipes

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:

• For the lamb: Soak the currants in warm water for 30 minutes. Drain.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a 6-quart saucepan over high heat. Add the lamb, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cayenne, and salt and pepper and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a large strainer set over a bowl and drain; discard any liquid left in the pan. Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the onions and bell pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the serrano and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
• Return the lamb to the pan, add the wine, and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost completely evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree and currants and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in the parsley and oregano and season with salt and pepper and honey, if needed. Remove from the heat.
• For the eggplant: Heat the canola oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Season the eggplant slices on both sides with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add the eggplant slices and fry until tender and lightly golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the eggplant slices to paper towels.
• For the bechamel: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until pale and smooth, 2 minutes. Still whisking constantly, add the milk and bay leaf and cook until thickened. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and discard the bay leaf. Let the sauce cool for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, goat cheese, and lemon zest and whisk into the bechamel sauce until smooth.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 3-quart baking dish or casserole dish.
• To assemble: Put half the eggplant slices in the dish and cover with half the meat sauce. Top the sauce with the remaining eggplant slices, and then the remaining meat sauce. Pour the bechamel over the top of the meat sauce and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle Romano evenly over the top, place the dish on a baking sheet, and bake until browned and bubbly, 45 to 50 minutes. Top with more chopped parsley, if desired. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

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).

EASY MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Boil the potatoes whole for 20 mins or just until tender. Drain and allow to cool.
• Return the pan to the heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil and the onion. Cook until softened, then add the lamb. Fry the mince for 5 mins or until cooked through and starting to char. Add the garlic and spice, and stir in the passata. Bring to a simmer, then season to taste, take off the heat and set aside until needed.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Warm a griddle pan over a high heat and brush a little oil over the aubergines. Grill for 2-3 mins each side or until char lines appear. You may have to do this in 3-4 batches.
• Once cool enough to handle, cut the boiled potatoes into thick slices. Put 1 tbsp oil in the base of a deep ovenproof dish and start with a layer of potatoes, then aubergines, a sprinkling of seasoning, then a layer of the lamb mixture. Repeat until all the mixture is used up, ending with a layer of aubergines. Spread the crème fraîche over the top and scatter with the cheese. Put in the oven for 10 mins or until the cheese is golden.

MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• For the vegetables: Season eggplants and zucchini and fry in olive oil until brown on both sides. Reserve on paper towel to blot oil. Reserve the grated cheese for assembly.
• For the sauce: In a warm sauté pan, brown meat and remove. Add olive oil, onions, garlic, and spices to same pan and sweat 6 minutes. Add tomato paste and meat. Add just enough water to prevent from sticking and cook until all water is evaporated. Reserve and allow to fully cool.
• For the béchamel: In a saucepot, melt butter. Add flour and cook while whisking over medium heat until blond color is achieved. Add milk while whisking and simmer 45 minutes, making sure to continuously stir sides so as not to burn. Season well with spices, salt, and pepper. When a thick consistency is reached (coats the back of a spoon), remove from heat and whisk in eggs rapidly. Cool béchamel and reserve.
• To assemble: In a 10" x 12" oven-proof casserole rubbed with olive oil, layer in zucchini and eggplant to about 1/3 up the casserole dish. Add the fully cooled meat mixture as second layer and press down to evenly obtain 2 distinct layers. Add cooled béchamel all the way to the top of casserole and top with generous amount of grated cheese. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to set. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. Remove foil and increase temperature of oven to 450 degrees F (or broil). Brown top of moussaka and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

VEGETARIAN MOUSSAKA WITH PLANT BASED MEAT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the eggplant slices, drizzle 2 tbsp olive oil all over. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Bake in the oven for 15 min or so, until eggplant has a slight golden color. Don't overbake! When ready, remove from oven and let them cool.
• In a frying pan add 2-3 tbsp light olive oil. In high heat fry the potato slices for approximately 1-2 min, both sides. Remove slices and place in a paper towel to absorb extra oil.
• Remove the light olive oil from the frying pan, wipe excess with a paper towel. Add 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. In medium heat, add the onions. season with a pinch of salt. After 2-3 min add the garlic. Stir well. Add the tomato paste. Season with another pinch of salt, fresh ground pepper and 1-2 pinch of dry oregano. Stir well. Add 1-2 pinches of chili flakes.Stir well.
• Add the plant based meat. Break it to small pieces, just like you would do with ground beef. Mix everything well. Add the wine. Allow the wine to evaporate a little for 2-3 min. Remove from heat and set aside.

LOW CARB GREEK MOUSSAKA WITH LAMB RAGÙ

Steps:

• heat olive oil in a small pan, add lamb mince, breaking it up and stirring it, and sauté for a couple of minutes until it's changed colour.
• incorporate all other ingredients, plus 50ml water, and simmer on very low heat, lid on, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding a little more water if becoming too dry.
• pre-heat oven to 200°C static.
• top and tail aubergines, then cut 1cm slices (lengthways); score each slice diagonally with the tip of a sharp knife, place on a baking tray lined with non stick paper and sprinkle a little salt.
• bake for 20 mins, then remove from oven and set aside.
• while the aubergines bake, prepare the cheese sauce by putting crème fraîche, cream, cream cheese, shredded cheddar and xanthan gum in a small pan; whisk and heat until smooth, then set aside.
• when all elements are ready to go, pre-heat oven to 175°C fan (195°C static).
• line a baking dish with sliced aubergines, top with cheese sauce, then ragù; repeat (once or twice, depending on the size of your baking dish) and finish with the grated Parmigiano.
• bake for 30 minutes until the crust is golden brown and caramelised.
• rest for 10 minutes and serve.

MOCK MOUSSAKA PIE

Steps:

• Peel and slice eggplant into thin rounds. Saute in olive oil. Sprinkle with Greek Seasoning. Oil 2 medium casseroles with olive oil and spread eggplant on bottom as first layer. Sprinkle with minced garlic.
• Slice onion and pepper thinly and saute in olive oil. Spread in an even layer on eggplant.
• Cook hamburger, crumbling it as it cooks. Sprinkle with Greek seasoning. Spread in an even layer on onion and pepper.
• Slice cheese very thinly. Spread in an even layer on hamburger.
• Slice Tomatoes and layer evenly on cheese. Beat eggs in a bowl until frothy. Mix in sour cream, alfredo sauce, and parmesan cheese. Pour over vegetables and spread until even. This mixture is fairly thick. Bake at 350 degrees until firm, 45 minutes to an hour. Do not overbake. Sauce should be very delicate but firm.