Preparation of moussaka in Greek. Moussaka in Greek, Bulgarian, Armenian, Serbian: the best recipes. How to cook moussaka with minced meat and eggplant, vegetables, potatoes, zucchini, rice, cabbage, vegetarian at home: recipe. Us by

Moussaka with minced meat - business card mediterranean cuisine. Nobody knows the exact history of this dish, it is prepared in many countries, and there are as many cooking options as there are countries themselves. In Greece, eggplants are added to meat, tomatoes are offered in the Serbian version, and potatoes in Bulgaria. In Arab countries, the dish is served as cold salad with tomatoes and eggplant. By the way, the origin of the word “moussaka” (accent on the last syllable) is Arabic, and it means “chilled”.

I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the recipe for Greek moussaka, so loved by all tourists. In Greece, moussaka is served both in inexpensive cafes and in luxurious restaurants. But to try this delicious casserole it is not at all necessary to go somewhere, the proposed recipe with a photo is as close as possible to the classical Greek and can be easily used at home. For cooking, you will need eggplant, some potatoes, minced lamb and a traditional filling - Bechamel sauce. And of course, almost no Greek dish is complete without cheese and olive oil. Vegetables for casseroles can be pre-fried or baked in the oven - do as you like. In the first variant olive oil used to lubricate the pan, in the second - vegetables.

Olive oil is a true Greek product. First-pressed oil is the most useful, it contains a lot of fatty acids (oleic, omega 3 and 9), vitamins A, D, E, K. It is believed that such oil is not used for frying, since all the benefits disappear under the influence of high temperature. But contrary to popular belief, many Italian, Greek, French chefs fry exclusively on it. There is a way to keep the maximum benefit of olive oil: fry food over low to medium heat. If the oil starts to burn and smoke, the temperature has been exceeded. You can also bake vegetables in the oven - the oil will definitely not burn there, unless, of course, you set a timer.

Greek moussaka is vaguely reminiscent of Italian lasagna, the recipe of which is located. Only instead of dough, a vegetable layer is used. Initially, the Greek recipe involves only eggplant, but its modern modifications allow the addition of potatoes and zucchini. The Greek aubergine and potato casserole is very hearty and stands out a little from the low-calorie Mediterranean dishes. According to tradition, it is prepared with minced lamb, but it also comes out quite tasty and juicy with pork and beef. You can even try minced turkey or chicken if you need to reduce the fat content of the dish. What else makes the casserole zest? This is red wine, which is added during the process of stewing meat. And give a special Mediterranean flavor meat dish cinnamon stick and mint. How to cook juicy and tasty moussaka step by step? Sharing the recipe!

Ingredients:

for moussaka:

3 eggplants (600-700 g);
4 large potato tubers (600-700 g);
3 small tomatoes (300 g);
1 small onion (300 g);
500 g of lamb or pork and beef mince;
200 g mozzarella;
100 ml. red dry wine;
2 cloves of garlic;
salt, pepper to taste;
cinnamon stick;
a few mint leaves;
extra virgin olive oil.

for the bechamel sauce:

1 l. milk;
100 g butter;
3 tbsp flour;
a pinch of nutmeg;
0.5 tsp provencal herbs.

Greek moussaka recipe with eggplant, potatoes, minced meat and bechamel sauce

1. Cut the washed eggplant into circles about half a centimeter thick.

2. Salt and leave for 20-30 minutes, so that the pieces release the juice, with which all the bitterness comes out of the eggplant.

3. Cut the potatoes into circles of about the same thickness as the eggplant.

4. Put the potatoes on a baking sheet covered with baking paper, lightly sprinkle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees. It should become soft and brown a little on top.

5. We make cuts on the skin of tomatoes to make it easier to remove it.

6. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and leave for 5 minutes.

7. In the meantime, finely chop the onion.

Tip: To keep from crying while slicing, chew on something or rinse your knife with cold water.

8. Put the onion in a pan with heated olive oil and sauté until half cooked.

9. Spread the minced meat to the onion and break it with a spatula, then mix with the onion.

10. You can already peel the skin from the tomatoes. Cut the fruits into small cubes.

11. Minced meat seized, meat juice began to stand out.

12. It's time to add the tomatoes to the minced meat.

13. Pour in red wine.

14. Add spices: mint and cinnamon stick.

15. Add water and simmer over low heat.

16. Wash the eggplants and squeeze the juice, dry with paper towels.

17. We also bake eggplants until soft (about 20 minutes), brushing a little olive oil on top.

18. Not a single moussaka is complete without Bechamel sauce. Interestingly, the origin of the fill is not Greek, but French! The preparation of the sauce is described in detail. So, melt half the butter over low heat, pour in the flour and mix immediately. Now pour in the warm milk in small portions, without ceasing to stir. Salt and pepper, mix and cook after boiling for another 2-3 minutes. Now turn off the heat, put the remaining oil and cover the pan with a lid until it is completely dissolved. Bechamel is ready. It will thicken a bit as it cools.

19. Half of the liquid from the pan has evaporated, minced meat remained in the sauce. You can get a cinnamon stick (it has already worked its way), add squeezed garlic, mix and remove the pan from the stove.

20. Rub the mozzarella on a fine grater.

21. We begin to collect moussaka with potatoes and eggplant. Grease the bottom of the mold with bechamel sauce.

22. Put a layer of eggplant in the form, arrange the circles tightly to each other.

23. Put minced meat on top.

24. Sprinkle with a little cheese.

25. Spread potatoes and cover with sauce.

26. The next layer is minced meat again.

27. And sprinkle with cheese again.

28. Spread the remaining eggplant.

29. Pour all the remaining sauce and mozzarella. We put moussaka with eggplant in a heated oven and bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.

30. Moussaka is baked, the cheese is beautifully browned. You can decorate the Greek casserole with a sprig of mint and serve. Enjoy your meal!

For Greek-style moussaka with eggplant, grind the meat into minced meat. Peel the onion from the husk. If the eggplants are bitter, cut them into slices or rings and dip them in salted water (1 tablespoon of salt per 1 liter of liquid) to get rid of the unpleasant aftertaste. After 15-20 minutes, take them out and dry them with a paper towel. Make cruciform cuts on the tomatoes, pour over with boiling water and immediately dip in cold water - this way the skin will easily separate from the pulp. Peel them and cut into slices.

Sauce Preparation: Melt the butter in a hot saucepan. Pour the flour into the butter and fry it, stirring constantly, until slightly golden, carefully breaking up the lumps. Pour in warmed milk little by little. Continuing to stir constantly, bring the mass to a homogeneous consistency and thickening (the sauce should have the density of liquid sour cream). Remove from fire. Lightly beat the eggs with a fork and carefully fold them into the sauce, trying to do it quickly so that they do not have time to curdle from the temperature. Grate cheese on a fine grater. Stir it into the egg and milk mixture while it is warm to melt it. Season the mass with nutmeg, add salt to taste and mix well.

Fry eggplant slices in a well-heated pan with vegetable oil until half cooked, half a minute on each side. Cut the onion into half rings, fry it until translucent and add minced meat to it. Fry the minced meat with onions for 5-7 minutes, season with your favorite herbs and pour in the wine. Simmer until liquid evaporates. Salt to taste. In a separate pan, lightly simmer the tomatoes so that they release excess liquid, which will interfere with the moussaka baking process. Put a portion of the fried eggplants in a baking dish so that they tightly cover the bottom. Put the minced meat on top of the eggplant and evenly distribute. The next layer is laid out circles of tomatoes. All layers are repeated one more time starting with eggplant. Pour the formed casserole evenly cream sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese on top. Moussaka is baked at a temperature of 200 degrees. Cooking time ranges from 30 to 45 minutes - it all depends on how quickly the liquid boils away. Therefore, the process should be controlled independently. Dishes should be baked, but not burnt.

Moussaka is a bright representative of the traditional Greek cuisine. It is, in fact, puff vegetable casserole with fried minced meat, filled with cream cheese sauce. Because of its similarity to the famous Italian masterpiece, moussaka is also called "vegetable lasagne". One of its famous variations is Greek moussaka with eggplant. The recipe is proposed to be used both for the festive and for the everyday table. Moussaka - very satisfying and beautiful dish. At the same time, it is very high-calorie and far from dietary: you can feed it big company or serve as a complete family dinner. Moussaka does not need to prepare an additional side dish due to the presence of variety of vegetables that make it even more useful. Especially this dish is suitable for those who willingly include eggplant in their diet. After all, in this dish they are especially tender, juicy and fragrant.

Moussaka with eggplant

To make moussaka you will need:

4 eggplants (about 700 g);
500 g minced meat;
2 onions;
4-5 tomatoes (about 300 g);
75 g of hard cheese;
150 ml dry white wine;
50 ml vegetable oil better than olive.

In the classic recipe for Greek-style moussaka with eggplant, lamb or beef is used to prepare minced meat. In extreme cases, you can mix beef with pork in a 1: 1 ratio.

To prepare the sauce you will need:

400 ml of milk;
150 g of hard cheese;
2 tbsp. l. flour;
2 eggs;
75 g butter;
a pinch of grated nutmeg.

Food preparation:

Sauce preparation:

Melt the butter in a hot saucepan.
Pour the flour into the butter and fry it, stirring constantly, until slightly golden, carefully breaking up the lumps.
Pour in warmed milk little by little. Continuing to stir constantly, bring the mass to a homogeneous consistency and thickening (the sauce should have the density of liquid sour cream). Remove from fire.
Lightly beat the eggs with a fork and carefully fold them into the sauce, trying to do it quickly so that they do not have time to curdle from the temperature.
Grate cheese on a fine grater. Stir it into the egg and milk mixture while it is warm to melt it. Season the mass with nutmeg, add salt to taste and mix well.

Greek moussaka with eggplant

Moussaka making process:

All layers are repeated one more time starting with eggplant.
Pour the formed casserole evenly with cream sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese on top.

For baking, it is better to use a form with high sides so that when pouring the sauce over the dish, it does not overflow over the edges.

Ready moussaka is a fragrant casserole with golden cheese crust. Before serving, she needs to let it brew and “rest” for about 15 minutes so that it is saturated with the juices of all the ingredients. It is more effective to present moussaka on the table directly on a baking sheet or in a baking dish, and divide it in portions right in front of the participants in the meal.

Many chefs argue about whether to use potatoes in a Greek eggplant moussaka recipe? This is rather an individual decision that everyone makes in accordance with their taste preferences. Potatoes will not spoil the overall impression of the dish in any way, but will only emphasize its taste and give an unusual aroma.

Before adding potatoes to moussaka, it should be cut into small slices (slices), lightly fried in a pan and put in a baking dish in the first layer, then minced meat, eggplant and then according to the main recipe.

Unlike the main recipe, moussaka with potatoes and eggplant should be baked a little longer. Do not forget that potatoes are used in a semi-cooked state and they also need time to be fully cooked.

To ready meal it turned out less fatty and high-calorie ingredients can not be fried, but baked for 15 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper without oil. Another way to get rid of excess oil is to lay the fried vegetables on a paper towel for 5 minutes and let the fat soak.

There are many varieties of moussaka. Almost every country has something like this. puff dish using baked vegetables, various sauces and additional ingredients such as mushrooms, bell peppers, nuts and even exotic seafood.

Moussaka is a real find for improvisations and culinary experiments. It is worth cooking it once and it will take one of the first places in the list of favorite family and special occasion dishes.

Video recipe for making moussaka with eggplant, potatoes and zucchini

This Greek dish includes both a meat component and a side dish. It does not require any additions and is surprisingly tasty. There are many recipes for Greek moussaka with eggplant, and any option will appeal to the most demanding gourmet.

Moussaka is not a national Greek dish. She has an author, the famous Greek chef Nikos Tselemendis. He was an adherent of not only national, but also European cuisine, so the recipe he invented whimsically combines traditional Greek vegetables and lamb, and exquisite French bechamel.

Yummy - you will lick your fingers.

The recipe is only about a hundred years old, but moussaka is enjoyed in all countries. There are many options for its preparation with various ingredients, but it all started with the classic Greek moussaka.

This dish cannot be called either low-calorie or dietary, but how delicious it is! When cooking do not spare spices and olive oil.

What is important, according to the classic recipe, Greek moussaka is prepared only from lamb. Well, at the very least, beef.

Of course, you can take pork or chicken, but it will not be the same.

Ingredients:

4 small eggplants with a total weight of about 700 g;
already twisted minced meat - 0.5 kg;
2 heads of onions;
several ripe tomatoes with a total weight of about 300 g;
hard cheese - 75 g;
dry white wine 150 ml;
olive oil - 2 tbsp. spoons.

Moussaka is supposed to be poured with sauce. For him you need to take:

hard cheese - 150 g;
2 chicken eggs;
400 ml of milk;
2 tbsp. spoons of flour;
butter - 75 g.

We will season the sauce with a pinch of grated nutmeg, and minced meat with dry herbs to your liking.

How to cook:

If the eggplants are bitter, they are cut into rings without peeling, and sprinkled with salt. In 20 minutes. washed and dried.
Tomatoes are peeled, for which they must first be scalded.
Fry eggplant rings over high heat, adding oil. It usually takes 1 minute for them to brown.
The onion, cut into half rings, is sautéed in oil until it becomes transparent. Add minced meat, knead and fry for 5 minutes. Season with herbs, pour in wine and stew so that all the liquid evaporates. At the end of the stew, salt to taste.
Tomatoes cut into circles are allowed.

Separately prepare the sauce:

fry the flour butter to a golden color;
diluted with warm milk, adding it in portions and thoroughly kneading until smooth;
warm up to the density of sour cream, turn off the fire;
lightly beaten eggs are kneaded into the sauce so that they do not curl;
it remains grated cheese on a fine grater, add to the sauce, season with nutmeg and salt and mix well.

Next, the bottom of a tall baking dish is covered with eggplant (take ½ part), put half the minced meat and cover with half the tomatoes. Spread the products again in the same sequence, pour over the sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake the dish in a hot oven for about half an hour.

The liquid should evaporate completely, but the food should not be allowed to burn.

Before serving, let the dish brew for a quarter of an hour.

Cooking option with potatoes

The cooking technology is the same. If you add 300 g of sliced \u200b\u200bpotatoes to the ingredients indicated in the previous recipe, the dish will have a different taste.

Potatoes must first be fried until half cooked or baked in the oven for 10 minutes. When forming a dish, it is laid in the first layer. The baking time for Greek-style moussaka with eggplant and potatoes will have to be slightly extended, since potato slices cook longer than all other ingredients.

With the addition of zucchini - step by step

Moussaka with zucchini is easy to prepare, they will give the dish a special taste and juiciness.

With zucchini, the dish will be juicier and tastier.

Ingredients:

3 eggplants;
1 zucchini;
1 onion;
5 tomatoes;
500 g already rolled minced lamb or veal;
300 g of hard cheese;
4 tbsp. spoons of flour;
2 glasses of milk;
70 g butter;
4 tbsp. tablespoons of olive oil.

The dish is seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.

How to cook:

Sliced eggplants and zucchini are sprinkled with salt.
After a quarter of an hour, wipe them from the juice and lightly fry with the addition of olive oil.
Peeled tomatoes are crushed, as well as onions.
Saute the onion in oil for 3-5 minutes.
Add minced meat to it, mix and bring to half-cooked.
Spread tomatoes to the semi-finished ingredients, season with spices, mix.
Fry flour in butter for 3-4 minutes. The mixture should be homogeneous, without lumps.
Dilute it little by little with slightly warmed milk, achieving uniformity after each serving.
Remove the sauce from the heat, then mix it with half the cheese grated on a fine grater.
Divide zucchini and eggplant into 3 parts, and minced meat in half.

Next, a third of the eggplant and zucchini are laid out at the bottom of a deep baking dish, then half of the minced meat, which is sprinkled with half of the remaining cheese, again a third of the eggplant and zucchini, the remaining minced meat, cheese, and zucchini and eggplant on top. Everything. Moussaka is poured with prepared bechamel and baked in a not too hot oven for about 40 minutes.

After baking, the moussaka should cool slightly before serving, so its taste will become brighter and more saturated, and when cut, it will not fall apart.

Greek Vegetarian Moussaka

This recipe is for those who do not eat meat in any form, but do not deny themselves eggs and milk. The dish does not look like the classic Greek moussaka with minced meat, although it is prepared using the same technology. But that doesn't make it any less delicious.

The dish is perfect for a pleasant evening dinner with the family.

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized carrots and onions;
a small root of celery weighing 100 g;
5 potatoes;
0.5 kg of asparagus green beans;
0.5 cups of rice;
4 eggs;
2/3 cup milk;
olive oil as needed.

In this recipe, the pouring sauce is made from a mixture of milk and eggs, but you can also make a classic béchamel.

How to cook:

Three carrots and celery on a grater, cut onions. Fry vegetables until soft.
Boil rice and beans until tender. Cut the last one into pieces.
Three boiled in their skins and peeled potatoes on a grater with large holes.
Make the sauce by mixing lightly beaten eggs with milk. You can add your favorite dried herbs to it.
We spread in a baking dish, greased with oil, first the potatoes, and then the rest of the ingredients in layers.
Pour the sauce over everything and shake the mold so that it saturates each layer.

Vegetarian moussaka bakes twice as fast traditional dish- only 20 min. in a hot oven at 200 degrees.

With eggplant and rice

There is very little rice in this dish, but it is he who absorbs that delicious juice that meat and vegetables secrete.

Ingredients:

2 eggplants with a total weight of about 500 g;
100 g of rice;
2 pcs. bulbs and large tomatoes;
a couple of cloves of garlic;
olive or vegetable oil - how much will go;
2 tbsp. spoons of flour and butter;
2 glasses of milk;
100 g of hard cheese, ideally Parmesan;
500 g minced pork or mixed with beef;
a pinch of grated nutmeg.

Salt and pepper are added to taste.

How to cook:

We clean the eggplant, cut it into longitudinal plates and soak for half an hour in well-salted water. Rinse and dry on a napkin.
Fry on both sides until golden brown but without overdrying.
Rice is cooked until almost cooked.
Fry finely chopped onion until golden brown, adding chopped garlic.
After adding minced meat, fry a little more, add salt and simmer with the addition of finely chopped tomatoes for 5-7 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 small eggplants;
bulb;
2 tbsp. spoons of sour cream, flour;
0.5 kg of minced meat;
1 st. a spoonful of tomato paste and butter;
2 eggs;
150 g of hard cheese;
clove of garlic.

Spices and salt to taste and desire. In a slow cooker, moussaka is cooked a little differently, but it still turns out very tasty.

How to cook:

We cut the eggplant into circles half a centimeter thick, without peeling them.
Sprinkle with salt and let stand for about half an hour. We wash and dry. In this case, you do not need to fry them.
Grind garlic and onion, fry with a piece of butter in a multicooker bowl in the “Baking” mode until golden brown.
Add minced meat, season with salt, pepper and spices, fry for another 20 minutes.
Stir with tomato paste and simmer another 10 minutes.
We mix cheese, eggs and sour cream, add salt and gradually add flour, achieving uniformity of the sauce.
We put the eggplant circles on the minced meat, pour the sauce and cook in the “Baking” mode for another third of an hour. We make sure that the "blue" vegetables are reddened.

When traveling around Greece, tourists do not miss the opportunity to get acquainted with the local cuisine. Many people like the piquant taste of traditional Mediterranean dishes, therefore, returning to their native land, travelers often try to repeat the creations of Greek chefs at home. Among the popular dishes, Greek salad, Tzatziki, Taramasalata and Moussaka in Greek with eggplant stand out, the recipe of which we will give in today's article. After reading the material, you will learn how to cook classic Moussaka, as well as what variations of this dish are found.

What is Moussaka in Greek

In every restaurant, cafe or tavern in Greece, traditional Moussaka is served - a layered Greek casserole with eggplant, minced meat and cream sauce. By appearance and cooking technology, it is very similar to Italian lasagna, with the only difference being that Greeks use vegetables instead of pasta sheets. This dish is associated with french cuisine, because the casserole is poured with the famous bechamel sauce.

This combination of European flavor notes with traditional Greek products is due to the fact that the creator of Moussaka, chef Nikos Tselemendis, not only loved national cuisine, but also appreciated the culinary finds of other countries. As a result of the hobbies and experiments of the Greek chef, classic recipe Greek Moussaki with eggplant and bechamel sauce. Consider the detailed composition of this original recipe.

Ingredients

It is difficult to surprise modern gourmets, so classic recipes are constantly undergoing changes in the composition of the ingredients or the method of preparation. We will also get acquainted with the variations of the Greek casserole, but first we will consider the original classics.

Traditional Moussaka is made from eggplant and minced lamb. Lamb is the favorite meat of the Greeks, and will not be replaced by other types of meat delicacies. Beef, pork, chicken and turkey are a completely different taste for a Greek dish.

Here is a complete list containing the main ingredients of Moussaka:

Eggplant - 1 kg;
Minced lamb - 500-700 gr.;
Onions - 2 pcs.;
Tomatoes- 3 pcs.;
Oilolive - 2 tablespoons;
Cheese - 100 gr.;
Dry white wine - 150 ml.

In addition, you need to stock up on spices and products for making the sauce.

The composition and proportions of spices are completely dependent on the preferences of the cook. Sometimes eggplant moussaka contains only ground pepper, salt and nutmeg. But in most cases, the dish is seasoned with a whole mixture of herbs. For a rich taste, add a sprig of cinnamon to the minced meat, nutmeg, oregano, lemon zest, bay leaf, salt, red pepper and regular ground pepper.

Greek casserole is poured with bechamel sauce, for which you will need the following products:

Milk - 0.5 l.;
Butter - 90 gr.;
Egg - 2 pcs.;
Cheese - 150 gr;
Flour - 2 tbsp.

General principles of preparation

The preparation of Moussaka is a rather lengthy process, consisting of several preparatory steps. The table below contains a description of each stage and important notes on the preparation technology.

Greek moussaka with eggplant
№	Stage	Description	Nuances and remarks
1	Sliced eggplant.	At the discretion of the cook, you can cut the vegetables lengthwise into large slices, or across the rounds. Most cooks prefer to peel the skin, but in the classic recipe eggplant is added to the dish with the skin on. In the process of cooking, it softens and does not interfere with enjoying the finished dish.	So that the vegetables do not taste bitter, after cutting them, hold them for 20-30 minutes in a “salt bath” (2 tablespoons of salt per 1 liter of water). After the procedure, dry the slices with a paper towel.
2	Tomato preparation.	Tomatoes are peeled and cut into circles. Before assembling the layers, the tomatoes are sautéed a little in a pan.	To easily get rid of the skin, dip the cut vegetables in boiling water for 1 minute, then pour over with cold water and remove the skin.
3	Roasting and stewing (onions, minced meat, tomatoes, wine, spices).	Peeled and finely chopped onions are laid out in a heated frying pan. With the appearance of a golden color, add minced meat to the onion, mix thoroughly and continue to fry. When the meat begins to release juice, it is seasoned with spices and poured with wine and water. The meat component is left to stew until the liquid evaporates.	Products are fried exclusively in olive oil. Lamb is used as minced meat, but, in extreme cases, it can be replaced with beef.
4	Roast eggplant	While the meat is stewing, it is necessary to fry the prepared eggplant slices in a separate pan.	Fry over high heat, no more than 1 minute for each side of the vegetable.
5	sauce preparation	Put butter in a frying pan and heat it up a little. Then flour is added to the butter and fried until golden brown. Slowly pour milk into the mixture, stir, and bring the mass to the consistency of liquid sour cream, after which it is removed from heat. Beat the eggs a little and quickly pour into the prepared mixture. It remains to add the grated cheese, season the sauce with nutmeg and salt, and mix thoroughly again.	The base is cooked over low heat, stirring constantly. Milk and eggs are added carefully so that they do not curdle ahead of time.
6	Assembly of layers	Prepared products are laid out in a baking dish in the following order: Eggplant (1/2 part); Minced meat (1/2); Tomatoes; eggplant; Ground meat; Bechamel sauce; Grated cheese. The dish is placed in a preheated oven and baked for 40-50 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees.	Before serving, the vegetable casserole should be infused for 15-20 minutes.

This is how a traditional Greek dish is prepared. Now consider the popular variations of recipes.

Moussaka Recipes

Apart from classic way there are many manufactures delicious variations of this dish. For example, Moussaka with eggplant and potatoes, lean casserole, Moussaka with rice and more than 14 recipes for cooking this dish in the oven. In addition, often not lamb or beef is used as meat, but chicken and pork. And the composition of spices for snacks is completely inexhaustible. Chili, cinnamon, garlic, dill and parsley, nutmeg, black pepper - Moussaka goes well with everything.

Classic Greek Moussaka with Eggplant and Potatoes

This variation differs from the classic Greek Moussaka with Minced Meat and Eggplant only in the presence of potatoes. The steps of the process are:

Coarsely chop the eggplant, potatoes and tomatoes. Bring the vegetables separately in a pan until half cooked.
Fry the minced meat, adding a little parsley, salt, garlic, as well as olive oil and pepper to it.
Prepare Bechamel. Fry flour in butter, slowly adding milk (500 ml) to the mixture. Remove the thickened mass from the heat and add beaten eggs (2 pcs.), Season with nutmeg and mix.
Put everything in layers: potatoes, eggplant, minced meat, tomatoes, again eggplant and minced meat. Pour over the sauce and add a topping of grated hard cheese (150 gr.). Put in the oven.

Moussaka is baked with potatoes for about 60-80 minutes.

Vegetarian (Lenten) moussaka in Greek

Cooking a classic eggplant Moussaka recipe means getting a huge portion of calories. If you are a fan of lighter and proper nutrition, then you can replace the composition of the products and cook Vegetarian Moussaka.

Required Ingredients:

carrots (2),
potatoes (5),
celery (100g),
green beans (500g),
rice (half a cup)
eggs (4),
milk (200 ml),
olive or vegetable oil (50 ml),
onion (2).

Onions are finely chopped, carrots and celery are ground on a grater, after which the vegetables are put in a pan and fried. Rice, beans and potatoes are boiled separately. The finished beans are cut into pieces, and the potatoes are rubbed on coarse grater. Prepared products are laid out in a form in layers, which are done in this order:

potato;
fried vegetables;
rice;
beans.

The sauce is made from a mixture of eggs and milk, but the classic Bechamel is also acceptable. Vegetarian Moussaka is baked for only 20 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees.

For meatless dishes in addition to rice, beans or carrots, cooks use other vegetables. Therefore, it is not at all uncommon for Moussaka with cabbage, bell pepper, pumpkin, green peas etc.

Moussaka Greek style with eggplant and zucchini

Many people like to combine zucchini and eggplant in Moussaka, so the dish turns out to be more juicy and rich.

Such a casserole with minced meat is being prepared (meat mixtures from lamb, beef or veal are acceptable), the difference is only in the number of vegetables. Zucchini are cut and cooked in the same way as eggplant, you can even fry vegetables together. The only thing to note is that zucchini should not be soaked in water or kept in salt, because. they will lose their consistency.

Variation with eggplant and rice

Another recipe for people who do not accept meat and high-calorie pastas. With rice, Moussaka is prepared a little differently, so the full step-by-step instruction cooking.

Eggplants (2 pcs.) are peeled, cut into large chunks and fried. Spread the fried vegetables on paper to drain excess oil.
Rice (150 gr.) and white beans(300gr.) Boil until cooked and mix with each other.
Tomatoes (3 pcs.) Finely chopped and sautéed in a pan with herbs (to taste).
Prepared products are laid out in a mold in the following sequence: eggplant - tomatoes - rice and beans - tomatoes - eggplant. The dish is baked for 30 minutes.

Ready Moussaka is served without sauce, but with a sprinkling of fresh herbs.

A traditional Greek dish is cooked very tasty using a slow cooker. Thanks to the smooth heating of the bowl, Moussaka becomes more tender in taste.

Ingredients for the dish:

eggplant - 2 pcs,
onion - 1 pc,
minced meat - 500 gr,
eggs - 2 pcs,
cheese - 150 gr,
sour cream - 2 tbsp,
flour - 2 tbsp,
tomato paste - 1 tbsp,
butter - 1 tbsp,
garlic - 1 clove.

Cooking process

Cut eggplant into slices, stand for 20 minutes. in a salt bath, dry. Chop the onion and garlic, fry in the “Baking” mode until golden brown. Add the seasoned minced meat to the onion and continue cooking for another 20 minutes. Fill the mixture with tomato paste, leave to languish in the same mode for 10 minutes

During this time, carefully mix the grated cheese, eggs and sour cream, achieving a homogeneous, thick mass. Open the bowl, put the eggplant on top of the minced meat and pour the sauce over the dish. Leave to cook for another 20 minutes until the vegetables are browned.

Moussaka with chicken and eggplant

Just as salads and casseroles with chicken are popular and tasty, so Greek Moussaka goes well with poultry meat. The preparation method is similar to classic recipe, only instead of minced meat, chicken fillet is finely chopped and fried with vegetables. The dish is laid out in layers and poured with a sufficient amount of bechamel sauce.