Really Easy Greek Moussaka Casserole Recipes

EASY MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 355F/180C. Lay the eggplant/aubergine slices on large baking trays and brush each side with a little olive oil. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the slices are soft.
• Meanwhile, make your meat sauce. Heat a little olive oil in a large saucepan, then cook the onion for a few minutes. Add the garlic, cinnamon & oregano and cook for a minute longer.
• Add the meat to the pan and brown while breaking up with a wooden spoon.
• Add the tomato puree, water and wine. Simmer the sauce until it has thickened (about 30 minutes).
• Stir in the parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
• To make the béchamel, melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then stir in the flour until you have a paste.
• Take off the heat, then stir in the milk little by little.
• Put the pan back on the heat and stir until the sauce has thickened and is just bubbling. Add most of the cheese and the nutmeg.
• Let cool for about five minutes, then whisk in the eggs.
• Divide the eggplant/aubergine slices into 3. Take the first pile and line the bottom of a 12 x 9 inch baking dish with them. Top with half of the meat sauce.
• Add another layer of eggplant/aubergine slices, and then the rest of the meat sauce.
• Add a final layer of eggplant/aubergine, then pour over the bechamel sauce. Smooth it with a spatula, then sprinkle over the rest of the cheese.
• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes (at 355F/180C) or until the top is golden and bubbling (cover it with aluminium foil if it gets too dark). Leave to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before serving (so that the pieces stay together when you cut and serve them).

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.

AUTHENTIC GREEK MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and place in a colander set in the sink or over a plate. Let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour so the salt can draw out any bitterness.
• Meanwhile, make bechamel sauce. Heat milk in a saucepan almost to a boil. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour until a smooth paste forms. Lower heat and gradually pour in hot milk, whisking constantly until bechamel sauce thickens. Season with salt. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
• Rinse eggplant slices under cold running water. Squeeze out liquid and pat dry with paper towels. Whisk egg yolks into the cooled bechamel.
• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet and cook eggplant slices in batches until each side is lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Drain on a large plate lined with paper towels.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil.
• Heat remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. Cook grated onion until soft, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high and add ground beef. Cook and stir until browned and crumbly, about 5 minutes. Season with allspice, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.
• Stir in tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook until all excess liquid has evaporated and mixture appears dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in parsley and remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in the egg white.
• Arrange a layer of eggplant in the prepared baking dish. Cover eggplant with all of the beef mixture and sprinkle with 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Cover with remaining eggplant and sprinkle another 1/3 of Parmesan cheese on top. Pour bechamel sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top of the moussaka is set and golden, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from oven and let rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

REALLY EASY GREEK MOUSSAKA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Peel and slice eggplant, and slice into pieces 1/2 inch thick; sprinkle with sea salt and allow to sit and drain in a colander. Rinse eggplant with water; pat dry and mince.
• Cook lamb and onion in olive oil in a large nonstick skillet until meat is browned. Add potato, garlic, salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg, cooking until potato is browned. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and vinegar along with water and cook until potato is done, then place in a large casserole dish or lasagna pan.
• Add more oil to nonstick skillet, and cook eggplant in two batches, until browned and tender, adding 1/2 cup dry red wine at the end of each cooking cycle and allowing the wine to cook in and absorb.
• Mix together cooked eggplant with sauce in pan, and spread evenly.
• Add butter to skillet along with flour and whisk into a roux; add milks and seasonings, and cook, stirring, until thickened. astir in cheese and remove from heat.
• Add 1/2 cup bechamel sauce to the eggs, whisking quickly to temper them and keep them from scrambling in the bechamel sauce, then add egg/sauce mixture to the bechamel sauce and finish whisking.
• Spread bechamel sauce over meat sauce.
• Bake moussaka uncovered for 35-40 minutes at 350°F or until bechamel sauce is set.
• Allow casserole to rest about 15 minutes before serving (I serve the salad course while waiting).

EASY MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375. Brush eggplant rounds with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large non stick skillet and brown eggplant over medium high heat. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in same large skillet and cook onion and garlic for 3 minutes. Add the ground beef and brown completely. Add the spices, and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. In a second non stick skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil and brown potato slices on both sides. Remove to a paper towel to drain and season with salt and pepper. In a buttered baking dish, layer potatoes, meat, eggplant and top with Parmesan. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, eggs and cream. Season with salt and pepper and pour over casserole. Let casserole sit for 10 minutes and then bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Allow casserole to sit for 15 minutes before serving.

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!