Greek Moussaka with Eggplant
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 1 ⅕ kilograms Eggplant
- 2 onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- vegetable oil (for frying and for the baking dish)
- 500 grams Ground meat
- 125 milliliters dry white wine
- 2 Tbsps Tomato paste
- salt
- freshly ground peppers
- Ground cinnamon
- 200 grams Feta
- 2 Tbsps chopped parsley
- 2 egg whites
- 2 Tbsps butter
- 2 Tbsps Pastry flour
- 500 milliliters milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 60 grams Kefalotyri cheese (Or pecorino, grated)
- Nutmeg
Preparation steps
Peel the onions and garlic and dice. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saucepan and fry onions and garlic with the ground meat, then deglaze with wine. Add tomato paste and season with salt, pepper and cinnamon. Simmer until the liquid is slightly reduced. Stir in feta cheese cubes, parsley and egg whites.
Rinse eggplant and cut into 1 cm (approximately 1/2-inch) thick slices. Heat oil in a large skillet and fry eggplant in batches over medium heat. Drain on paper towels. Layer some eggplant slices, overlapping slightly, over the bottom of a greased baking dish. Layer ground meat mixture and eggplant slices to fill the baking dish.
Melt butter in a shallow saucepan over medium heat until foamy. Stir in the flour with a whisk. Cook until light brown, then whisk in the milk gradually. Bring to a boil while stirring and simmer for about 10 minutes while whisking. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, then stir in egg yolks and cheese. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour the bechamel over the casserole.
Bake on the middle rack in a preheated oven 200°C (approximately 400°F) for 35-40 minutes. Let rest a few minutes before slicing and serving.
