Moussaka – The Greek Layered Bake
The great Greek bake: layers of grilled eggplant (aubergine) and spiced meat ragù, topped with béchamel and plenty of grated cheese, browned until golden.
Two things separate a good moussaka from a watery one.
The eggplant is grilled, not fried. Fried, it drinks oil like a sponge and brings that liquid into the dish; grilled with barely any oil, it comes out tender and dry.
And the bake has to rest a few minutes out of the oven. Cut straight away it runs across the plate — those minutes are what let the béchamel set enough to hold a slice.
A lighter version of the same vegetable is the Greek-style eggplant.
Ingredients
- 500 g ground beef (mince)
- 3 large eggplants (aubergines), cut lengthways into 0.5 cm slices
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 250 ml red wine (1 glass)
- 1 l crushed tomatoes
- Hot beef stock, as needed
- Grated Parmesan, as needed
- Oil (corn, sunflower or olive), as needed
- Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 30 g butter (for the béchamel)
- 30 g all-purpose flour (plain flour), for the béchamel
- 500 ml cold milk (for the béchamel)
- Salt, ground white pepper and nutmeg, for the béchamel
Method
- 1
Start the meat: in a deep pot with a splash of oil, cook the ground beef over medium-high heat until it has completely changed color and is loose.
- 2
Flavor and deglaze: add the chopped onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Pour in the red wine to deglaze the bottom and let the alcohol cook off for a couple of minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and let it reduce.
- 3
Béchamel: in a small pot over medium heat, melt the 30 g of butter and add the 30 g of flour. Stir well with a wooden spoon and cook the roux for 1-2 minutes so there is no raw flour taste. Add the cold milk gradually, whisking, and season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg.
- 4
Grilling the eggplant: heat a grill pan or griddle over high heat. Brush the eggplant slices with very little oil, salt them and cook on both sides until tender and lightly golden. Grilled, not fried — fried they absorb oil and make the dish watery.
- 5
Assembly: in an ovenproof dish of about 30 x 20 cm, lay a compact base of grilled eggplant. Spread a layer of the meat over it. Alternate layers of eggplant and meat, finishing with the béchamel and plenty of grated cheese.
- 6
Bake in a preheated oven at 190-200 °C until the surface is completely golden and bubbling. Let it settle for a few minutes before cutting — straight out of the oven it runs.
Flavors of the Mediterranean: From Our Table to Yours
If one kitchen invites you to sit down at a long table and stay there, it is the Mediterranean. This is our personal selection of dishes that celebrate freshness, sun and good produce: recipes that smell of basil, lemon and sea. Technique in the service of simplicity — and dishes that come out right every time.
