Easy Moussaka


I had two beautiful eggplants that I was going to make babaganoush with,

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but I also had some ground beef sitting in the fridge that I had to use up, so moussaka.

Alexander had never had moussaka before and it usually takes forever to make, but last Saturday we woke up early and it was cloudy outside. I figured this activity would keep us occupied for several hours, 3 1/2 to be exact.

Moussaka has many variations. Some are made with a layer of potatoes or zucchini. Some regions have a layer of bechamel. Some have a yogurt and cheese topping or for example Egyptian Moussaka (or the original Greek version before Chef Nikolaos Tselementes added the bechamel in 1920) has no topping, only eggplant and ground beef.

Now bechamel is rather a rich sauce, time consuming and difficult, so I decided to top ours with a yogurt cheese blend and make it easy. I luckily had Greek yogurt, feta and ricotta in the fridge, so I decided to use all three in the topping.

Another time consuming and fattening step is frying the eggplant in olive oil. The eggplant can absorb an insane amount of olive oil and you could end up with almost a whole cup of oil in your moussaka. Instead I roasted my eggplant in the oven and saved on all that fat and time.

Alexander and I had a lot of fun

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assembling

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the whole thing

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and eating it. I was worried though that he wouldn’t like it. I made an awesome eggplant parmigiana a couple of weeks ago and he wouldn’t touch it.

Surprisingly he ate a whole plate of the moussaka, asked for seconds, and ate it for breakfast the next morning. I kid you not.

Avec Amour, Victoria and Alexander.

Easy Moussaka

Yield 6 – 8 Servings

2 Medium Eggplant (2 1/2 pounds)

1 Pound Ground Beef

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

3 Cups Onion, diced ( about 2 large)

2 14 oz Cans Diced Tomatoes

1/4 Cup Tomato Paste

1/2 teaspoon Paprika

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon Ground Allspice

1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/8 teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Topping

1 Cup No Fat Greek Yogurt

Eggs, large

3 oz Feta Cheese, crumbled

1/4 Cup Ricotta

1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg

1. Slice eggplant ( I did it with the skin on, but Alexander picked the skin out while eating so next time I will peel the skin) 1/3″ thick discs,

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salt generously and let sit in a colander for 1/2 hour up to a full hour to remove the bitter juices,

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rinse and pat dry.

2. Brown ground beef in a large sauce pan, remove from pan and drain off fat. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Absorb with a paper towel the excess fat from the pan, add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and sauté onions until translucent,

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return beef to pan,

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add tomato puree,

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diced tomatoes,

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and spices.

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4. Simmer on low heat covered for 1/2 hour

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and uncovered for another 1/2 hour until most of moisture is dried up, stirring occasionally.

5. Meanwhile roast the eggplant. Brush 2 tinfoil lined half sheet pans with olive oil and arrange eggplant.

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Roast in oven ten minutes then turn down oven to 375 degrees and rotate sheet pans top to bottom and front to back and roast another 10 minutes.

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Remove any slices that are thinner and getting brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Turn oven down to 350 degrees.

6. Mix together yogurt, feta, ricotta and nutmeg,

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whisk together eggs

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with a fork until they are broken up

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and then stir into cheese.

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7. Assemble in a 13″ x 9″ baking pan, spray pan with non stick canola oil or brush with olive oil

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and arrange eggplant in a layer on bottom,

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top with half the beef mixture, arrange another layer of eggplant,
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top with remaining half of beef mixture and pour on cheese topping.

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8. Bake in 350 degree oven for 40 minutes then broil for about 5 minutes until dark golden brown on top. Let cool at least 15 minutes then serve.

Enjoy! My husband liked it with a dollop of Greek yogurt on top. If you have leftovers, I do not recommend reheating in the microwave. Reheat in a 300 degree oven until warm.

Easy Moussaka From Alexandersmom.com

Ingredients

  • 2 Medium Eggplants (2 1/2 pounds)
  • 1 Pound Ground Beef
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 3 Cups Onions, diced (about 2 large)
  • 2 14 oz Cans Diced Tomatoes
  • 1/4 Cup Tomato Puree
  • 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground Allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon Fresh Black Pepper
  • Topping
  • 1 Cup No Fat Greek Yogurt
  • 3 Eggs, Large
  • 3 oz Feta Cheese, crumbled
  • 1/4 Cup Ricotta
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

Instructions

  1. Slice eggplant 1/3" thick discs, salt generously and let sit in a colander for a 1/2 hour up to a full hour to remove the bitter juices, rinse and pat dry.
  2. Brown ground beef in a large sauce pan, remove from pan and drain off fat. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
  3. Paper towel out excess fat from pan, add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and sauté onions until translucent, return beef to pan add tomato puree, diced tomatoes, and spices.
  4. Simmer on low heat covered for 1/2 hour and uncovered for another 1/2 hour until most of moisture is dried up, stirring occasionally.
  5. Meanwhile roast the eggplant. Brush 2 tinfoil lined half sheet pans with olive oil and arrange eggplant. Roast in oven ten minutes then turn down oven to 375 degrees and rotate sheet pans top to bottom and front to back, and roast another 10 minutes. Remove any slices that are thinner and getting brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Turn oven down to 350 degrees.
  6. Mix together yogurt, feta, ricotta and nutmeg, whisk together eggs with a fork until they are broken up and then stir into cheese.
  7. Assemble in a 13" x 9" baking pan, spray with non stick canola oil or brush with oive oil and arrange eggplant in a layer on the bottom, top with half the beef mixture, arrange another layer of eggplant, top with remaining half of beef mixture and pour on cheese topping.
  8. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes then broil for about 5 minutes until golden brown on top. Let cool at least 15 minutes then serve.

Notes

Enjoy! My husband liked it with a dollop of Greek yogurt on top. If you have leftovers, I do not recommend reheating in the microwave. Reheat in a 300 degree oven until warm.

©2016 Alexandersmom.com. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.alexandersmom.com/2016/04/26/easy-moussaka/

6 thoughts on “Easy Moussaka”

  1. I am definately making this. Love your new blog!!!
    I’m out of town, but let’s definately get together soon. We have lots to talk about.
    By the way, do you know about IDNYC?
    Talk soon,
    Vanessa

  2. Its like you learn my thoughts! You appear to know a lot about this, such as you wrote the book in it or something.
    I believe that you just could do with a few percent to pressure the message home a bit,
    however instead of that, this is wonderful blog. An excellent read.
    I will certainly be back.

    1. Thank you for checking us out. Glad you enjoy the blog. Please do come back!

  3. Hi,
    I have made your recipe twice. Both times it was out of this world. The first time I made your recipe without the meat because my daughter is a vegetarian and the recipe was awesome. I have replaced the meet was something that vegetarians use resembling meat but not meat. The recipe came out absolutely incredible. Today I made the recipe using meat and the recipe once again was absolutely awesome.

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