Moussaka

Ingredients

• Eggplant

  raw

  1000g

• Salt

  table

  1 tsp or 6g

• Olive oil

  2 tbsp or 27g

• Olive oil

  1 tbsp or 14g

• Sweet onion

  raw

  1 onion or 331g

• Garlic

  raw

  3 cloves, minced or 9g

• Ground beef

  raw, 80/20

  1 ⅜ lb or 634g

• Red wine

  table

  4 fl oz or 118g

• Tomatoes

  red, raw

  397g

• Tomato paste

  canned, unsalted

  3 tbsp or 48g

• Beef bouillon

  prepared with water

  1 cup or 241g

• Bouillon

  dry, low-sodium

  1 cube or 4g

• Bay leaf

  dried

  0.7g

• Granulated sugar

  white

  1 ½ tsp or 6g

• Oregano

  dried

  2 tsp, ground or 4g

• Cinnamon

  ground

  ½ tsp or 1g

• Salt

  table

  ¾ tsp or 5g

• Butter

  unsalted

  4 tbsp or 57g

• All-purpose flour

  white, unenriched

  3 ³⁄₁₆ cup or 400g

• 1% milk

  2 ½ cup or 610g

• Nutmeg

  ground

  ¼ tsp or 0.6g

• Parmesan cheese

  grated

  ½ cup or 50g

• Egg

  whole

  1 medium or 44g

• Egg yolk

  raw

  1 large yolk (separated from white) or 17g

• Chicken stock

  home-prepared

  ⁷⁄₁₆ tbsp or 6g

• Black pepper

  ground

  ¼ tsp or 0.5g

• Breadcrumbs

  dry, grated, seasoned

  ⅓ cup or 40g

Directions

1. Eggplant (Note 6)
2. Place eggplant slightly overlapping in a large colander. Sprinkle with some salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant.
3. Leave to sweat for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make Meat Sauce and Bechamel Sauce.
4. Preheat oven to 240C/450F.
5. Pat eggplant dry - make sure to do this well, otherwise it's too salty. Lay on parchment paper lined trays (you might need 3 trays, work in batches), brush with oil.
6. Bake 15 - 20 minutes or until lightly browned and softened . Remove and set aside to cool slightly.
7. Meat Sauce
8. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or pot over high heat, then cook the garlic and onion for 2 minutes.
9. Add the beef or lamb and cook until it changes from pink to brown, breaking it up as you go.
10. Add wine, cook for 1.5 minutes or until alcohol smell is gone.
11. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat to medium low and cook for 15 minutes, or until reduced to a thick sauce.
12. Bechamel Sauce
13. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
14. Stirring constantly, slowly add the milk. Then stir regularly for 3 to 5 minutes or until it thickens so that it thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon (see video / step photos).
15. Remove from the stove and whisk in cheese, nutmeg, Vegeta/stock powder (or salt) and pepper.
16. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then whisk the eggs in. Cover with lid until required.
17. Assemble
18. Lower oven to 180C/350F (all oven types).
19. Place half the eggplant in the bottom of a baking dish (I used my 26cm/9" Lodge skillet), then top with all the Filling.
20. Top with remaining eggplant, then pour over the Bechamel Sauce, sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
21. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
22. Recipe by: Nagi (source: https://www.recipetineats.com/moussaka-greek-eggplant-beef-bake/#wprm-recipe-container-19656)