Moose Moussaka Recipes

TRADITIONAL MOUSSAKA RECIPE WITH EGGPLANTS (AUBERGINES) AND POTATOES

Steps:

• To prepare this Greek moussaka recipe, begin by preparing the eggplants. Remove the stalks from the eggplants and cut them into slices, 1 cm thick. Season with salt and place in a colander for about half an hour.
• and squeeze with your hands, to get rid of the excessive water. Pat them dry and fry in plenty of oil, until nicely colored. Place the fried eggplants on some paper, in order to absorb the oil. (For a lighter version of the traditional Greek moussaka try drizzling the aubergines with some olive oil and bake them for 20 minutes instead of frying them). Set aside when done.
• If you are adding potatoes to your moussaka, now its time to slice them into 0.5cm, half a finger width slices. Fry them or bake them in the same way as the eggplants. Season with some salt and set them aside when done.
• for the moussaka. Heat a large pan to medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the chopped onions and sauté, until softened and slightly colored. Stir in the mince breaking it up with a wooden spoon and sauté. When it starts to brown, add the the garlic and tomato paste and sauté until the garlic starts to soften. Pour in the red wine to deglaze the meat juices and wait to evaporate. Add the tinned tomatoes, the sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, 1 bay leaf and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes or until most of the juices have evaporated. Set aside when done.
• for the moussaka. Use a large pan to melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the flour whisking continuously to make a paste. Add warmed milk in a steady stream; keep whisking in order to prevent your sauce from getting lumpy. If the sauce still needs to thicken, boil over low heat while continuing to stir. Its consistency should resemble a thick cream.
• Remove the béchamel pan from the stove and stir in the egg yolks, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and the most of the grated cheese. Reserve some cheese to sprinkle on top! Whisk quickly, in order to prevent the eggs from turning an omelette! Season with salt to taste. Take one spoon full of béchamel and stir it in the meat sauce. Set the béchamel sauce aside.
• Now its time to assemble the moussaka. For this moussaka recipe you will need a large baking dish, approx. 20x30cm / 8x12inch and 8cm/3 inch deep). Butter the bottom and sides of the pan and layer the potatoes first (if you're using them), then half the eggplants. Pour in all of the meat sauce and spread it out evenly. Add a second layer of eggplants, top with all of the béchamel sauce and smooth out with a spatula.
• . Preheat you oven at 180C/350F and bake your musaka for about 60 minutes or until its crust turns light golden brown. Even though it will be really hard to do so, you should wait for the moussaka to cool down and be just warm to the touch before cutting into pieces. This will prevent the béchamel sauce from pouring out when you're cutting your pieces.
• Serve the Moussaka with a refreshing Traditional Greek Salad and enjoy over a glass of wine!

MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°. Arrange potato and eggplant slices in 2 greased 15x10x1-in. baking pans, overlapping as needed. Bake until cooked through, 20 minutes. Set aside; reduce oven setting to 400°., In a large skillet, cook lamb, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, 7-9 minutes, breaking into crumbles; drain. Stir in tomatoes, water, tomato paste, 1/4 teaspoon salt, oregano, paprika, cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes., In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg., Arrange par-cooked potatoes in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish, overlapping as needed. Top with lamb mixture. Arrange eggplant over top, overlapping as needed. , Top with bechamel sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let stand 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).

MOOSE MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• In a skillet fry onions in oil until soft, add Moose meat and continue to cook until brown; add remaining meat sauce ingredients. Simmer.
• Prepare vegetables by slicing into 1/4 inch thick pieces. In a separate pan fry vegetables in oil until tender, remove from pan and drain on paper towel.
• To make the white sauce complete the following: In a pan melt butter, add flour and while stirring slowly add milk. Add nutmeg, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. Stir until thick and bubbly. Add egg (slightly beaten), cook one minute more.
• In a baking dish layer meat sauce at bottom, next layer vegetables top with cream sauce. Bake in a preheated oven set to 350 degrees for one hour.

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 - GREEK CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Potatoes:.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Toss the potatoes with the olive oil in a large bowl.
• Put them in a single layer on a baking sheet and season to taste.
• Roast until soft and starting to brown, about 35 minutes.
• Béchamel Sauce:.
• In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium heat.
• Add flour and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes until it starts bubbling but does not color.
• Gradually whisk in the hot milk.
• Continue whisking for about 6 to 8 minutes until it thickens.
• Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Put the eggs in a large bowl.
• Whisk the béchamel sauce into the eggs.
• Continue whisking for a few minutes until the béchamel has cooled slightly (enough so that the eggs won't curdle).
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
• Make sure to place wrap directly on the surface of the sauce so a skin does not form.
• Set aside.
• Lamb:.
• Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.
• Add lamb and sauté until cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 6 minutes.
• Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes.
• Add wine, cayenne pepper, and oregano and cook 2 minutes.
• Stir in cinnamon, tomatoes, tomato paste and nutmeg.
• Reduce heat to medium.
• Cover and simmer until sauce is very thick and reduced to about 6 cups, stirring occasionally, about 60-70 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, preheat the grill on medium-high heat.
• Brush the eggplant slices with oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Grill until cooked through and golden, about 2 minutes per side.
• Set aside.
• To Assemble:.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Coat a 14x10x2-inch glass baking dish with oil.
• Arrange potatoes in bottom of dish.
• Arrange half of eggplant slices over potatoes.
• Pour half of lamb sauce over.
• Arrange another layer of eggplant slices on top.
• Pour remaining sauce over.
• Pour béchamel sauce over moussaka, covering completely.
• Bake moussaka uncovered until bubbling around edges, about 1 hour or until topping is softly set and browned.
• Transfer baking dish to rack and let rest 20 minutes before slicing.

MEATLESS MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Ligthly grease a 1 1/2 cup straight-sided casserole or charlotte mold; set aside.
• Cut stems from eggplants and quarter each lengthwise.
• With a sharp knife cut pulp from skin leaving a 1/4 inch thick shell intact.
• Chop pulp, place in colander; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss. Let drain for about 30 minutes.
• Fill a Dutch oven about half full of water and heat to boiling.
• Drop in skins, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes; drain.
• When cool enough to handle, use a spoon to gently scrape remaining pulp from skins; discard, set skins aside.
• In a large skillet heat oil.
• Add mushrooms and onions; saute 5 minutes.
• Stir in tomatoes and cinnamon; reduce heat to low.
• Squeeze eggplant pulp to remove moisture and add to skillet.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.
• Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
• Pour in milk and stir constantly until mixture thickens; add nutmeg.
• Stir white sauce, eggs, cheese, bread crumbs and 1/4 teaspoon salt into skillet with eggplant mixture until completely combined.
• Remove from heat; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line casserole with skins, arranging vertically (skin sides against the mold) along bottom and up sides; overlap edges slightly.
• Spoon eggplant mixture into center;fold any overhanging skins on top of filling.
• Put casserole in baking pan on oven rack. Fill baking pan with hot water.
• Bake 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove casserole from oven; let stand 10 minutes; spoon off any drippings.
• *Can be made ahead to this point. Cover and refrigerate up to 48 hours. To reheat, put 1 inch of water in a Dutch oven; heat to boiling.Uncover mold and set into water.Heat until water simmers. Cover pan; reduce heat and cook until eggplant is heated through, about 45 minutes.).
• Invert onto serving dish; cut into wedges to serve.

THE BEST MOUSSAKA!

Steps:

• Brown meat (either ground lamb or ground beef), onions, and garlic in olive oil.
• Add parsley, tomato, tomato sauce, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and bouillon.
• Cover and simmer 45 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in breadcrumbs.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Thinly slice eggplant.
• Dust with flour.
• Heat olive oil in skillet and brown eggplant on both sides.
• Cover bottom of greased large casserole dish (or greased small round roasting pan, which is what I use because I don't have a casserole dish big enough) with cooked, sliced potatoes.
• Top potato layer with with meat mixture and top that with eggplant.
• To make sauce, melt butter in saucepan.
• Add flour.
• Cook and stir 1 minute.
• Stir in milk.
• Cook on medium-low, stirring constantly, until thick and just starting to boil.
• Remove from heat and stir in eggs and cheese.
• Pour sauce evenly over eggplant layer in casserole dish.
• Place casserole dish into a larger pan containing some water.
• Bake, uncovered, for one hour.