“Greece 🇬🇷 ~How to Make Greek Mousaka ”

• April 17, 2020
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

My favorite Greek Meal

“MOUSAKA!”

Just before the government lockdown, here on Santorini; and before we had a kitchen to play house in, while visiting Greece, Daryl and I had ordered a meal from a restaurant in Fira (it was already “delivery only” by this time on the island) Luckily, I chose “Mousaka.” 

OMG, Mousaka has all the yummy ingredients of a desirable local dish, that I categorize in the major food group of; comfort food! 😁
If the restaurant food was this good, I became inspired to figure out how to make it, myself, even better! Also lucky for me, we know a few Greeks! I got my first lesson.. no actual recipe, since this is an old family recipe.. who needs that! … but I watched and took good notes. Then, while still in Greece, made it on my own, a d it was delicious. If you already are a fan of cooking, just adjust for the quantity of guests you need to feed.

How To Make Mousaka

Set your oven temp to 250 degrees

I used a 12×16 baking pan…making about 6-8 servings 

List of Ingredients:     
Ground hamburger or lamb, Tomato Paste, Onions, Potatoes, Eggplant, Olive Oil, Butter (not margarine), Flour, Whole Milk, Eggs, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Sesame Seed

Brown 2 to 3 pounds of hamburger or lamb, whichever you fancy. If you have made spaghetti sauce, before, just do that, but add lots of sautéd onions 🧅. If you like your sauce tomato-ie, add a can of tomato’s 🍅 (very well drained), along with tomato paste….Set aside

Please take note: for best results, keep your sauce less “saucy and more meaty”… liquids in this dish affect the outcome.

3 medium Potatoes 🥔 and 1 large Eggplant 🍆 

Slice your potatoes very thin and fry them in oil till crispy.. drain on paper towels……set aside

After about 30 minutes, lightly sauté the eggplant slices in olive oil, but do not overcook.….set aside.

Now, to combine these prepared ingredients, just think think how you would make a “lasagnas,” but without noodles. Moussaka is to the Greeks, what Lasagna is to the Italians, just not the same ingredients, obviously!
 Make two layers each of: potatoes, eggplant, meat sauce, and sprinkled Parmesan cheese in a baking dish of your desired size…. end with sauce 

With your two layers of ingredients all ready to go. Here is your final step:

The trick to making good whites sauce is a lot like making good gravy at thanksgiving…lumps are not our friends.

Melt the butter, but do not burn it…. next, have a whipping utensil 🥄 in hand and your heat on just below medium, slowly add flour to the hot butter and whip very quickly.  (This is how you avoid lumps) you should notice a thick paste forming. At this point, add milk, slowly, also whipping quickly, until you have a thick gravy consistency. At this point, add at least two egg yolk, and whip that in.

Turn the heat off and add the grated Gouda cheese to your creamy white sauce, and mix in. Pour your white sauce over your waiting dish of layered ingredients.

Sprinkle the top of your dish with a bit of cinnamon, cardamom, and sesame seeds

Place the completed dish into the preheated oven.  Keep in mind, the dish is already fully cooked, when you assembled it, so what is needed now is to heat it all, completely through. Watch for bubbling on the edges, and you will know it’s done (about 15 to 20 minutes) 

Note: any time cheese is involved on a top layer, it can burn easily, so it’s best to keep an eye out for that. It needs to get brown on top, but not burn. Adding foil across the top, while baking works, too.

Eat and enjoy! Opa!

Looks good enough to dive into!