1
StepHeat the oven to 200 C. Slice the aubergines lengthways about 1 cm thick, salt them and leave them for 20 minutes, then pat dry. Slice the peeled potatoes 5 mm thick.
Main Dishes
Moussaka
Layers of roasted aubergine and potato under a spiced lamb sauce, sealed with a thick béchamel enriched with egg yolk and kefalotyri. It bakes until the top is set and blistered gold, then rests so the layers hold together on the plate. It feeds eight and is better on the second day.
120 min
Prep: 45 / Cook: 75
8
servings
Hard
Difficulty
4.6
8 Ratings
Ingredients
For the layers
- 1,2 kg aubergine
- 700 g potato
- 120 ml olive oil
- 0 salt
For the meat sauce
- 800 g lamb mince
- 2 pieces onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 can chopped tomato
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 150 ml red wine
- 1 piece cinnamon stick
- 2 pieces bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried oregano
For the bechamel
- 100 g butter
- 100 g plain flour
- 1 l milk
- 120 g kefalotyri
- 2 pieces egg yolk
- 1 pinch nutmeg
Preparation
8 Steps
2
StepBrush the aubergine and potato slices with olive oil, spread them on trays without overlapping and roast for 25 minutes, turning once, until the aubergine is soft and browned and the potato is tender at the edge of a knife. Lower the oven to 180 C.
3
StepMeanwhile, soften the chopped onion in olive oil over medium heat for 8 minutes, add the garlic for a minute, then add the lamb mince and brown it hard, breaking it up, until the liquid has cooked off and the meat sizzles in its own fat.
4
StepPour in the red wine and let it reduce almost completely, then add the tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon stick, bay and oregano. Simmer for 25 minutes until the sauce is thick enough to hold a channel when you drag a spoon through it. Remove the cinnamon and bay and season.
5
StepFor the béchamel, melt the butter, whisk in the flour and cook the roux for 2 minutes without letting it colour. Add the milk a little at a time, whisking, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until it thickly coats the back of a spoon. Off the heat, beat in the nutmeg, most of the kefalotyri and the egg yolks.
6
StepLayer a deep 30 by 22 cm dish: potatoes on the base, half the aubergine, all the meat sauce, then the rest of the aubergine. Press each layer down flat so there are no air pockets.
7
StepPour the béchamel over the top, spread it level, scatter with the remaining cheese and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is set, puffed and deep gold with darker blisters.
8
StepRest the moussaka on a rack for 30 to 45 minutes before cutting into squares. It will still be hot in the middle and the slices will lift cleanly.
Chef's Tip
Rest the moussaka for at least 30 minutes out of the oven before cutting, or the slices slump into a heap. Roasting the aubergine instead of frying it saves close to a litre of oil and keeps the dish from turning greasy.
Comments (4)
the cinnamon in the meat sauce surprised me, in a good way
can i assemble it a day ahead and bake it after work?
yes, build it and refrigerate, then bake from cold with fifteen extra minutes. the bechamel is honestly better that way.
the rest before slicing is not optional. learned that the messy way
roasting the aubergine instead of frying saved me most of a bottle of oil