Greek Style Eggplant Casserole (moussaka)
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 3 Eggplant
- salt
- 250 milliliters olive oil
- 200 grams onions
- 600 grams Tomatoes
- 600 grams Ground meat (beef or lamb)
- 250 milliliters dry white wine
- 1 generous pinch sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- freshly ground peppers
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ bunch parsley
- 4 Tbsps Sunflower seed
- 100 grams breadcrumbs
- 100 grams grated Graviera cheese (or Gruyère)
- 40 grams butter
- 4 Tbsps Pastry flour
- 750 milliliters milk
- freshly grated Nutmeg
- 2 tsps lemon juice
- 3 eggs
- 200 grams soft Feta
Preparation steps
Rinse the eggplant and cut lengthwise into approximately 0.5 cm (approximately 1/4 inch) slices. Let sit for about 20 minutes in salted water, then drain and pat dry. Heat 3 -4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large non-stick pan and cook the eggplant slices until light brown over high heat. Add additional oil as needed. Drain on paper towels.
Peel the onions and dice. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water, peel, remove the stems cut into cubes. Sauté the onions in the remaining oil in the pan . Stir in the ground beef and cook over high heat until the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the tomatoes, white wine, sugar and cinnamon and season with salt and pepper.
Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Rinse the parsley, shake dry and chop finely. Stir the organo, sunflower seeds and parsley into the meat and cook for another 5 minutes, then allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (approximately 350°F). Mix 2 tablespoons of the breadcrumbs and half the gruyere cheese into the meat. Heat the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook briefly. Stir in the milk gradually and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes while stirring over low heat. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and lemon juice, then allow to cool slightly. Whisk 2 eggs, then stir with the remaining gruyere into the sauce.
Grease a baking dish with butter and sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs. Mix 1 egg with the meat. Place half of the eggplant slices in the bottom of the baking dish. Spread the meat mixture over the eggplant, then layer with remaining eggplant and cover with the sauce. Crumble the soft feta cheese over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
