Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1½ lb. extra lean ground beef 3 large eggplants sliced 4-5 large potatoes, peeled 3 tbsp. olive oil 1 large onion chopped 1 cinnamon stick 1 tsp. garlic 1 tsp. ginger 1 can of diced tomatoes 14.5oz 2 tbsp. tomato paste ½ tsp. salt in the ground beef ½ tsp. Italian spices ½ tsp. paprika ½ cup of beef, vegetable or chicken stock 1 grated nutmeg 1 bunch of fresh chopped parsley
Béchamel Sauce 6 cups of warm milk ½ cup of all purpose flour 1 stick or ½ cup of unsalted butter 4 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil black pepper to taste 2 egg yolks 1 cup of parmesan cheese
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Directions: |
Directions:1. Slice eggplants with the skin on, lay it on a baking tray, season with salt, pepper and paprika. Drizzle with Olive oil and bake at 350º.F until the eggplants turn light golden brown. 2. Slice the potatoes into ½ inch thick slices. Fry the potatoes in canola oil and remove on to a plate with paper towel, Season with salt, pepper and paprika. 3. In a deep frying pan, heat olive oil add bay leaf, cinnamon stick and onions. 4. Fry the onions until they are soft but not coloured.. 5. Add garlic and ginger, and fry for a minute. 6. Add the ground beef and cook until the meat changes colour. Season with salt , pepper, paprika and Italian spices and mix well. 7. Add the tomato paste and let it cook with the meat for 2 minutes. Pour in a full can of diced tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon until the tomatoes have mixed with the beef. . 9. Add the stock and parsley and simmer for another 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened and most of the liquid has evaporated. 10. Grate the nutmeg in the beef mixture, cover the pan. cook for a minute and remove from the heat. Remove the bay leaf. 11. On medium heat, melt butter in a pot, add olive oil and add the flour and mix with a whisk. 12. Cook the flour until it starts turning slightly golden brown and there is an aroma. 13. Turn the heat to simmer and slowly start adding the milk, stirring continuously with the whisk so that there are no lumps. The sauce should be thick and smooth 14. Add ½ cup of parmesan cheese, black pepper, grated nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Do not add too much salt as there is salt in the cheese.. Turn the heat off and let it cool a little. 15. Mix the egg yolks in the béchamel sauce, stir well and leave it on the side 16. Take about ½ cup of béchamel sauce and mix with the meat sauce.
Assembling the Moussaka 17. Cover the base of an ovenproof 12" X 8" dish with fried potatoes at bottom. Make layers by adding ⅛ of the baked eggplants over the potatoes, then ½ of the meat sauce over the eggplant. Next ⅛ eggplant over the meat sauce,. Pour remaining meat sauce over the eggplant and the last portion of the eggplant over the meat sauce. Add the béchamel sauce over eggplant and smooth with a knife. . 18. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the béchamel sauce, grate lots of nutmeg, black pepper and paprika. 19. Bake in a preheated oven at 350º F for about 50 minutes to 1 hour until it is bubbling and top is golden brown. 20. Remove from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into slices.
Serve with Greek Salad. |