Greek Moussaka (Eggplant Beef Bake)
Ingredients
Eggplant
2 large eggplants / aubergines, cut into ¼" / ¾ cm thick slices
2 tbsp olive oil
Filling
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced (brown, white, yellow)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.4 lb / 700 g ground beef (mince)
14 oz /400g crushed tomatoes (Note 1)
3 tbsp tomato paste (Note 1)
1 cup beef broth/stock, or water + 1 beef bouillon cube (Note 1)
1½ tsp sugar (any)
2 tsp dried oregano
¾ tsp salt
Bechamel Sauce (Note 2)
4 tbsp butter
5 tbsp plain flour
3 cups milk (I use low fat)
¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated (optional)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese (Note 3)
1 egg (Note 4)
1 egg yolk (Note 4)
Salt and pepper
Topping
⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 5)
Recipe Notes
- The original recipe only used 2 large tomatoes. I felt that this did not give the filling quite enough flavour for my taste so I increased the amount of tomato in it and added beef broth.
- I like to have plenty of Béchamel sauce on my Moussaka so I increased the flour by 1 tbsp and increased the milk slightly.
- Traditionally this is made with grated Kefalotiri Cheese which is a greek cheese that is not available in Australia (to my knowledge). Parmesan cheese is a close substitute.
- I found using 2 eggs + 1 yolk per the original recipe made the Béchamel sauce set too much for my taste. I like mine creamy, not firm custard like.
- The original recipe used fresh breadcrumbs. I like using panko because it saves making my own but still has more crunch than normal breadcrumbs.
- The main objective with the eggplant is to prepare it so excess water is removed before assembling the moussaka. Otherwise, it drops water while baking and you end up with a watery base - I've made this mistake before.
- FREEZING: Cook per recipe, then allow to cool. Cover tightly with cling wrap then freeze. To reheat, thaw then reheat at 180C/350F for 25 minutes uncovered or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out hot.
Instructions
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