Vegetable Greek Moussaka

26 Oct 2015 - Vegetable Greek Moussaka updated

Moussaka  is an eggplant- (aubergine) or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, in the cuisines of the countries of the former Ottoman Empire, with many local and regional variations.
Most versions are based primarily on sautéed aubergine (eggplant) and tomato, usually with minced meat. However, the Greek version includes layers of meat and eggplant topped with a Béchamel ("white") sauce, and baked. It has three layers that are separately cooked before being combined for the final baking: a bottom layer of sliced eggplant sautéed in olive oil; a middle layer of ground lamb lightly cooked with chopped or puréed tomatoes, onion, garlic, and spices (cinnamon, allspice and black pepper); and a top layer of Béchamel sauce or savory custard. The composed dish is then layered into a pan and baked until the top layer is browned. In Greece vegetarian variants may include, in addition to the eggplant slices, sautéed zucchini (courgette) slices, part-fried potato slices, or sautéed mushrooms.

Note: Delicious. My mom gave permission to make it a regular dish (she even said that she will provide all the ingredients, hmm...maybe I should teach her instead so she can make it herself).

The recipe is from Tori Avey's with some modification. The vegetable are baked (sometimes I just pan fried them) before layered in the dish.

Vegetable Moussaka

5 August 2012 - Vegetable Greek Moussaka

1 cup dry brown lentils, rinsed, sorted and boiled (I didn't used it, other variant is using red kidney beans.)

2-3 medium eggplants (about 1.4kg), peeled, sweat and baked
3 medium zucchini, sliced thin and baked
3 large russet potatoes (700g), peeled, sliced thin and baked

For the tomato sauce:
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded, cored, and sliced thin
2 cans diced tomatoes (I used fresh, diced tomatoes)
3 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped
½ Tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional—adds mild sweetness)
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp cinnamon (didn't used, my family don't like it)
Dash of cayenne pepper

½ cup crumbled feta cheese
10 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

For the Béchamel:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp flour
3 cups milk
1 egg, beaten
¼ tsp nutmeg, or more to taste
Salt and pepper