Moussaka Recipe

Name: Moussaka
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: oliv oil 1 tsp; butter 10 g; small onion 1; clove of garlic 1 pc; Soup vegetables 1 bunch; minced meat from beef 500 g; tomato puree 3 tbs; dry red wine 100 ml; chopped tomatoes 1 can; lemon abrasion some; balsamico 1 tbs; Salt 1/4 tsp; black pepper 5 pinches; brown sugar 2 pinches; Potatoes 400 g; eggplants 3 pc; cold water 100 ml; starch 1 tbs; Créme Fraîche 2 cup; nutmeg 4 pinches; Salt 5 pinches; Pepper 3 pinches; grated parmesan or pecorino 100-150 g; thyme 1/4 bunch

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Author:
Thomas Sixt is a chef, food photographer, cookbook author and blogger.
Here he shares recipes, answers cooking questions and helps with cooking.

Today I’ll show you my Moussaka Recipe.

Just last week it was there again, this discussion whether we cook lasagna or musaka.

For me the decision is easy, I like the combination of potatoes, eggplant and tomato juices very much.

Here we go, here’s your trusted chef and I’ll show you a delicious dish for the oven.

There are advantages to reading on, I’ve hidden a secret bechamel sauce for you.

In the following story I will give you good tips that will awaken your cooking genius and show you several variations of the Greek casserole with eggplant.

Table of Contents

1. Recipe Moussaka
2. Calories and Nutritional Values
3. The Right Potato Variety for Moussaka
4. Prepare Minced Meat Sauce or Vegetarian Sauce for Moussaka
5. More Matching Ideas

1. Recipe Moussaka

Following now the ingredients and shopping list and step by step instructions.

Good luck and a good appetite!

Moussaka

A casserole recipe, cooked, photographed and written down by professional chef Thomas Sixt.

Servings 4

Calories 1130

Total Time 90 Min.

Preparation Time 40 Min.

Cook Time 50 Min.

Simple instructions for preparing moussaka.

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4.99 from 1036 ratings

Ingredients

Hackfleischsoße oder Veggie Soße
1	tsp	oliv oil
10	g	butter
1		small onion (I like to use shallots)
1	pc	clove of garlic (In winter I prefer 2 cloves of garlic)
1	bunch	Soup vegetables (Carrots, celery, parsley root finely chopped)
500	g	minced meat from beef (Original with minced lamb, alternatively soy/ mushroom product or leave aside)
3	tbs	tomato puree
100	ml	dry red wine
1	can	chopped tomatoes
some		lemon abrasion
1	tbs	balsamico (I use an old, ripe balsamic vinegar.)
1/4	tsp	Salt (I like to use Himalaya salt.)
5	pinches	black pepper
2	pinches	brown sugar
Moussaka Ingredients
400	g	Potatoes (I’m using waxy potatoes)
3	pc	eggplants
Secret Bechamel Sauce
100	ml	cold water
1	tbs	starch
2	cup	Créme Fraîche
4	pinches	nutmeg
5	pinches	Salt (I prefer to use ursalt.)
3	pinches	Pepper
Decoration and Accessories
100-150	g	grated parmesan or pecorino (Original is Kefalotiri, a Greek hard cheese)
1/4	bunch	thyme (I also like to use marjoram/oregano.)

Instruction

Prepare Minced Meat Sauce

Ragout ingredients in the pot — Ragout ingredients, minced meat, diced vegetables, onions and garlic prepared in the saucepan.

Sauce ingredients

Put olive oil and butter in a pan and heat. Peel onions and garlic.

Finely dice onions and garlic.

Peel and finely dice the soup vegetables.

Fry the ground meat and vegetables — Minced meat and vegetables when frying in the pan.

Fry ingredients

Fry the minced meat in a pan, add the vegetable, garlic and onion cubes and sauté for 10 minutes.

For the veggie version, leave out the minced meat or use a substitute product.

Add tomato paste to the ragout — Add tomato paste to the minced meat with vegetables.

Tomatize

Add the tomato paste.

Toast the tomato paste — Roast the tomato paste with the minced meat.

Roast ingredients

Roast the minced meat and vegetables with the tomato paste until light brown.

Add tomatoes to the ragout — Add the canned tomatoes to the ragout.

Deglaze

Then optionally deglaze with the red wine and boil down briefly.

Add the tomatoes and bring to the boil.

minced meat sauce cooked — Prepare minced meat sauce, step picture Bolognese ragout.

Seasoning

Flavour the ragout with a little lemon grater, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar, simmer gently for at least 15 minutes.

Prepare Vegetables

Slice the potatoes thinly — Prepare the potato slices.

Prepare potatoes

Cut the peeled potatoes into 2 mm thick slices, the eggplants into 4 mm thick slices.

Prepare the secret bechamel:

Mix cold water with starch, stir in the crème fraîche, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Fill in and bake the Casserole

Pour moussaka into roasting pan — Pour the potatoes, minced meat sauce and aubergines into the pan.

Insert casserole

Place the potato slices in a baking dish.

Cover with tomato sauce and add a few slices of secret bechamel.

Place the aubergine slices in the sauce and add the vegetables.

Mix the last layer with aubergines and potatoes, the vegetables should be in the sauce.

Then sprinkle with the cheese.

Baking

Cook the casserole in the oven for a good 50 minutes at 180°C hot air.

Check the degree of cooking with the needle sample:

If the fork is easy to prick, the casserole is ready.

Decoration

Serve

Set the table and arrange the casserole on plates, decorate with thyme and serve quickly.

Video

In this way of preparation I have deliberately renounced a classical béchamel sauce, so that it goes faster.

Just try the secret Béchamel Sauce and write me a comment how you liked it.

2. Calories and Nutritional Values

3. The Right Potato Variety for Moussaka

Boiling potatoes, also bacon potatoes are ideal for this oven dish.

You can also prepare casseroles with a mainly waxy potato.

However, the consistency and taste is best with the waxy potatoes.

Please peel the potatoes thoroughly for the casserole. Peeled potatoes should be placed in cold water, then they will not turn brown!

3.1 Overview of the Cooking Properties of Potatoes and Use of Table Potatoes

While writing the article I searched for this potato thing and didn’t really find what I was looking for in the big G. I was very impressed with the potato thing.

Therefore I made a short overview with the help of my professional cookbook collection.

All these names around the great tuber make you smoke your head!

I hope it will help you if you stand helpless in front of the potato mountains in the supermarket again.

Really now! Thank God there is only one kind of eggplant, otherwise this article would become a doctoral thesis…

Boiling potatoes, including fat potatoes, are excellent for fine fried potatoes, potato gratin, potato pancakes and rösti, potato salad and casseroles.

Mainly waxy table potatoes as a side dish to dishes with sauces and dips, casseroles, soups, stews, potato pancakes, boiled potatoes, jacket potatoes, fried potatoes and French fries.

Flour-boiling table potatoes for mashed potatoes, potato dumplings and potato dumplings, potato dumplings, puff pastry, croquettes, baked potatoes, soups and stews.

Floury cooking potatoes are unsuitable for potato salad, fried potatoes, peel and boiled potatoes and gratins!

4. Prepare Minced Meat Sauce or Vegetarian Sauce for Moussaka

Here are some tips and an overview…

Brown the minced meat with the vegetables or save money and cook vegetarian.
Sweat onions, garlic and finely chopped soup vegetables in olive oil and butter to create a fine taste.
Take your time here… Let 10 minutes sweat is great!
Add tomato paste and fry lightly.
This gives a roasted taste and a darker colour!
Deglaze with red wine and bring to the boil, add chunky tomatoes.
Flavour with lemon zest, old balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar.
Cook the ragout with meat for at least 35 minutes to improve the flavour.
Vegetarian ragout can be further processed after 15 minutes.
If you need the illusion of meat in a ragout, vegetarian minced meat made from mushrooms or soy minced meat can be added.

Elsewhere you will find the recipe minced meat sauce in 2 variants with many more tips.

The minced meat sauce with tomatoes and vegetables is at home throughout the Mediterranean region in various flavours. You prepare the original Musaka casserole with lamb or minced mutton.