Ingredients
Units
Scale
- Ultimate Meat Layer:
- 1 Tbsp. Greek Olive Oil
- 1 large White Onion, finely-diced
- 3 cloves Garlic, finely-diced
- 1 lb. 90/10 Ground Beef
- 1/4 lb. Ground Lamb
- 1/4 lb. Sweet Italian Sausage, no casing
- 2 heaped Tbsp. Tomato Paste
- 1 cup pureed/strained tomatoes - Pomi and Muir Glen are both excellent brands
- 1 cup Homemade Beef Stock or low-salt frozen/canned
- 1/2 cup Dry Red Wine - TFD prefers a Malbec
- 1/8 cup finely-minced Fresh Parsley
- 1/4 cup finely-minced fresh basil
- 1 Tbsp. finely-minced fresh mint (TFD optional addition, it may be omitted if you prefer)
- 2 1/4 tsp. finely-minced Fresh Oregano (TFD change, original called for fresh thyme)
- 3/4 tsp. Powdered Dried Greek Wild Thyme flowers, ground to a powder in a spice grinder (strongly preferred) or just use dried thyme if you must
- 1/2 Tbsp. Beef Demiglace (optional TFD addition, omit if you prefer)
- 2 small or 1 large Bay Leaf (preferably fresh)
- 1 SMALL dash of European Maggi seasoning (VERY optional TFD addition, omit if you prefer )
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt, or to taste (use 3/4 tsp. if you’re omitting the highly-optional Maggi seasoning)
- 1/2 tsp. Sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground Ceylon Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground clove
- 1/2 tsp. freshly-grated nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. freshly-ground Black Pepper, or to taste
- ***
- Classic Béchamel Sauce:
- 4 oz. Unsalted Butter, TFD strongly endorses Kerrygold Irish butter
- 4 oz. A/P Flour
- 4 cups top-quality Whole Milk, at room temp
- 1 cup freshly-grated Kefalotyri cheese - you can also use Pecorino Romano or Gruyère, plus have extra of whichever cheese you use
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt, or to taste
- 1/2 small Nutmeg, grated
- 1/4 tsp. freshly-ground White Pepper
- ***
- Veg Layers:
- 2 lb. Eggplants
- 2 large Baking Potatoes, peeled & sliced into approximately 1/4" thick rounds
- 2 medium Zucchini, sliced into approximately 1/3" thick lengthwise strips
- 2 cups Greek Olive Oil, or enough to cover veg in the pan
- ***
- Freshly-minced Parsley & grated Kefalotyri, Pecorino Romano or Gruyère (to sprinkle in between layers)
- Kosher Salt & freshly-ground Black Pepper, as needed
- ***
- Garnish:
- Finely-minced Parsley
Instructions
- Meat Layer: Heat olive oil in a large pan or pot over medium heat. Add onion and fry until it begins to soften/brown, then add in garlic and fry for 1-2mins longer.
- Add in beef, lamb and sausage and break up with a wooden spoon until fully browned. Stir in tomato paste and fry for a couple of mins, then pour in wine. Deglaze the pan, then pour in strained tomatoes and beef stock. Add in remaining ingredients and give it a good stir. Keep on a gentle simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until nice and thick.
- PREP Veg Layer: Using a potato peeler, peel strips of the eggplant peel off in a striped pattern. The peel on eggplants is very tough, even when fully cooked and it is difficult to cut through with a fork. Eggplant peel also becomes bitter. Peeling most of it off while leaving stripes yields tender eggplant that still retains a pretty appearance of the shiny purple peel. Slice into ⅓” thick pieces (I do lengthways but you can make more smaller rounds if you wish)
- Rest a few sheets of paper towels onto a flat surface and lay on your eggplant slices. Rub a goodly amount of Kosher salt over both sides, then add two layers of paper towels on top. On top of that add the zucchini slices, followed by another layer of paper towel, followed by potato slices and finished with another layer of paper towel. Gently press down to soak up the moisture. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Discard paper towels and keep the vegetables separated for cooking.
- COOK Veg Layer: Heat up enough oil to cover the veg in a suitably sized pot/pan until it gently sizzles (you’re looking for around 300F). Carefully start sliding in your potato slices and fry both sides until lightly golden with the potato fork tender. Remove, shake off oil and place on fresh paper towel. Increase oil temp slightly to 340F and fry the zucchini slices until softened & lightly browned, then finish with the eggplant slices. Leave everything to drain on paper towels. You can use two pans to speed things up.
- Béchamel Sauce: In a suitably sized pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in flour to create a paste, then gradually begin whisking in your milk. Once you’ve poured in all the milk and the sauce is thick, stir in salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Take the pot off heat and stir in grated cheese until the sauce is lump free, then quickly whisk in the egg yolks. Take ½ cup of the sauce and stir it into the meat mixture.
- Stack Moussaka: Add a layer of potato to the baking dish (overlapping as needed) and sprinkle over a hefty pinch of parsley, grated cheese, salt & pepper. Follow with zucchini and parsley/grated cheese/salt/pepper, then half the eggplant with a pinch of salt and pepper. Try and close all the gaps and make it all nice and compact. Spread over beef layer, top with the rest of the eggplant and then top with the Béchamel sauce.
- Cook & Serve Moussaka: Finish with a sprinkling of grated cheese, then place in the oven at 350F for 35-45 minutes, or until golden on top. Leave it to cool for at least 15 minutes, just to help it keep its shape when sliced. Dust the top of the moussaka with the extra finely-minced fresh parsley and serve.