Traditional Macedonian Moussaka Recipe - Easy Meat & Potato Casserole (2024)

FAQs

What is a traditional moussaka made of? ›

What's in a traditional moussaka recipe? A classic family-friendly dish from the Mediterranean, moussaka is classic comfort food, which we happily eat all year round. It consists of layers of pan-fried eggplant, a thick, rich lamb-tomato sauce, and a topping of deliciously creamy bechamel sauce.

Serve the moussaka with a chunky tomato, cucumber, parsley and mint salad and crusty bread.

Cooked moussaka can be frozen. Once it cools completely, simply cut the moussaka into pieces and freeze them (you can store the pieces in separate freezer-safe containers or wrapped tightly with parchment then foil . This way, you can reheat individual slices at a time.

The dish has a crunchy top but the sauce is the thing that brings out all the flavors. People like Moussaka because it tastes like an exotic version of lasagna (without the pasta). Also, it is extremely healthy because it has all the green vegetables.

It was the Arab Immigrants, which introduced moussaka to Greece and Turkey in outdoor dining areas. In the 1920s, Nikolaus Tselementes, a well-known Greek chef and recipe writer, developed what is now the Greek version of moussaka. He invented the layers and recommended the use of bechamel sauce.

Unlike pasticcio or lasagna, there is not a layer of pasta to help soak up wetter sauce. Cook the sauce down until it is mostly crumbled meat. The eggs and bread crumbs will help thicken it a bit after it's done cooking.

A red wine

It is always advisable to pair a dish with a wine from its region of origin . A Greek or Rhone red will be perfect to accompany a moussaka.

Moussaka is to the Greek what Lasagna is to Italians. A rich tomato meat sauce layered with eggplant instead of pasta sheets, and topped with a thick layer of béchamel sauce, this traditional Greek recipe takes time to assemble – but it's well worth the effort! This is serious comfort food – a low carb one at that!

moussaka, dish of baked lamb and eggplant prepared throughout the Balkans and Middle East but most closely associated with Greece and Turkey. In the Greek version, eggplants are sliced and fried lightly in olive oil and then layered in a casserole with a mixture of ground lamb, onions, tomato sauce, and seasonings.

By now the sauce should have a thick custard like consistency. If it is still too runny, cook for a little longer until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Can you assemble moussaka the day before? ›

Moussaka is an ideal dish to make ahead of time. You can assemble the pie the day in advance and bake just before serving. It's also easy to freeze smaller cooked portions to serve on busy weeknights with a Super Caesar salad on the side.

The top layer of Greek moussaka is made of béchamel sauce. The sauce consists of roux (a mixture of butter and flour). Milk or cream is whisked with the roux to make a rich white sauce. Sometimes egg yolks and cheese are stirred into the sauce to make it even richer.

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Measure the spices and tomato paste, and have the beef and tomatoes on hand. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and gently cook the onions until translucent and start to turn golden, about 8-10 minutes.

Moussaka is a traditional Greek eggplant casserole made with baked or pan fried eggplants (aubergines) and potatoes, a rich, tomatoey beef or lamb mince sauce and topped off with a deliciously creamy bechamel sauce. In other words, the ultimate comfort food.

In its purest form, béchamel is comprised of butter and flour that have been cooked together (a mixture that's also known as a roux) and milk, with just a bit of seasoning. The result is a silky cream sauce that can be used either on its own or as the base for countless other sauces.

In any case, the primitive Sicilian parmigiana must have been a dish very similar to the Turkish moussaka, made of eggplants fried in oil and sprinkled with pecorino cheese and other seasonings.