Dishes that embody the national characteristics of a particular country amaze with their flavor combinations. This also applies to such a dish as Greek moussaka with eggplant, the recipe of which is sought by any hostess who once tasted it.

How to cook moussaka in Greek?

To prepare a Greek moussaka dish, you need to stock up on a certain set of ingredients and follow the necessary processes:

1. The main components of the dish are minced meat, eggplant, tomatoes, cheese, bechamel sauce, which is made from milk, flour, butter.
2. As a base, a layer of eggplant is used, on which the rest of the components are held. They are cut with or without skin. Then they are fried or baked. Before this, eggplants are recommended to soak with salt and stand for 20 minutes to get rid of bitterness.
3. Minced meat is fried with onions and tomatoes. Then wine and spices are added as desired.
4. The highlight of the dish is the béchamel sauce. To cook it, melt the butter, sift the flour into it, pour in the milk, beat in the eggs and cook the sauce until it thickens.
5. To form Greek moussaka with eggplant, the recipe involves laying out layers. The first of them is eggplant, then comes grated cheese, minced meat, again eggplant and cheese, pour sauce on top.
6. The food is baked at 180 degrees for a quarter of an hour, then the same time without foil.

Moussaka - a classic Greek recipe

There are several ways in which Greek eggplant moussaka is created, the classic recipe includes ingredients such as blue ones, minced meat, tomatoes, cheese and béchamel sauce. As alternatives, you can recipes with the addition of other types of vegetables: potatoes, zucchini. They are also laid in layers, creating the basis for minced meat, tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• eggplant - 2 kg;
• minced meat - 1.5 kg;
• onions - 2 pcs.;
• tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
• cheese - 250 g;
• oregano - 1 tbsp. l.;
• cinnamon - 1 tsp;
• tomato paste - 2 tbsp. l.;
• butter - 6 tbsp. l.;
• garlic - 4 cloves;
• wine - 250 ml;

For sauce:

• butter - 6 tbsp. l.;
• flour - 7 tbsp. l.;
• milk - 1 liter;
• eggs - 3 pcs.

Cooking

1. Cut the eggplant.
2. Fry minced meat together with onion and garlic, add spices.
3. Add tomatoes, pasta, wine.
4. Make bechamel sauce.
5. Put the layers, pour the sauce and bake for half an hour.

How to cook moussaka with eggplant and minced meat?

To simplify the long cooking process, some housewives prepare a simplified version - moussaka with minced meat and eggplant. The food is not inferior in satiety and piquancy to those made in the classical way. To successfully turn out a simple Greek-style moussaka with eggplant, the recipe allows for the use of fewer ingredients.

Ingredients:

• minced meat - 0.5 kg;
• onions - 2 pcs.;
• eggplant - 5 pcs.;
• tomatoes - 5 pcs.;
• eggs - 6 pcs.;
• sour cream - 3 tbsp. l.;
• cheese - 250 g;
• spices.

Cooking

1. Cut the eggplant and fry them, do the same with minced meat and onions.
2. Chop the tomatoes, grate the cheese.
3. Make a sauce with whisked eggs and sour cream.
4. Put everything in layers and pour sauce.
5. Bake moussaka for 40 minutes.

Greek Moussaka with Eggplant and Potatoes

An alternative dish would be moussaka with potatoes and eggplant. Depending on individual preferences, potatoes can be replaced with eggplant or a combination of these two types of vegetable. For minced meat, you can use a mixture of lamb and beef (this is considered a classic option), but you can also replace lamb with pork.

Ingredients:

• eggplant - 4 pcs.;
• potatoes - 2 pcs.;
• onion - 1 pc.;
• tomatoes - 4 pcs.;
• minced meat - 0.5 kg;
• garlic - 2 cloves;
• tomato paste - 1 tbsp. l.;
• cheese - 70 g;
• seasonings.

Cooking

1. Fry eggplant and potatoes, and in another pan - minced meat, combined with onions and garlic. Add tomatoes.
2. Lay out in layers, pour over tomato paste, sprinkle with cheese.
3. Bake moussaka in the oven for half an hour.

Moussaka Greek style with eggplant and zucchini

Another popular variation of the dish is moussaka with zucchini and eggplant. It can be laid out in the traditional way, one layer on top of another, or you can create a miniature version of the dish by separating the eggplant in half and creating boats out of them. They are filled with the chosen filling of vegetables, minced meat and cheese.

Ingredients:

• minced meat - 0.5 kg;
• onions - 2 pcs.;
• eggplant - 4 pcs.;
• zucchini - 3 pcs.;
• eggs - 6 pcs.;
• sour cream - 3 tbsp. l.;
• spices.

Cooking

1. Fry minced meat with onions, and in another pan - eggplant and zucchini.
2. Put everything in layers, top with eggs mixed with sour cream, and sprinkle with cheese.
3. Bake moussaka for 40 minutes.

Greek moussaka with bechamel sauce - recipe

Different recipes for cooking the dish contain certain types of dressings, with which the layers of food are poured on top. It can be eggs beaten with sour cream, tomato paste diluted in water. But the most popular option corresponding to the classic recipe is Greek moussaka with bechamel sauce.

Ingredients:

• eggplant - 5 pcs.;
• tomatoes - 2 pcs.;
• onion - 1 pc.;
• cheese - 200 g;
• minced meat - 300 g;
• flour - 2 tbsp. l.;
• butter - 50 g;
• milk - 2 cups;
• eggs - 2 pcs.

Cooking

1. Roast eggplant.
2. Fry minced meat with onions, then adding tomatoes.
3. Make a sauce by heating the oil on the stove, adding milk, flour, eggs to it, bring to a thickening.
4. Lay out the layers, pour over the sauce and sprinkle with cheese.
5. Moussaka oven 1 hour.

Moussaka with rice and eggplant

In the cuisines of different countries there are certain varieties of dishes. So, in Bulgaria, minced meat is replaced by rice. In some cases, housewives prefer to cook such a satisfying variation of the dish, in which these two special components are combined, the result is moussaka with rice and eggplant, and minced meat.

Ingredients:

• eggplant - 1 kg;
• onions - 3 pcs.;
• rice - 100 g;
• eggs - 3 pcs.;
• flour - 2 tbsp. l.;
• milk - 1.5 cups.

Cooking

1. Roast eggplant. Rinse rice.
2. Fry the onion, then add rice to the pan, lightly fry and add water. Simmer until rice absorbs it.
3. Fry minced meat and combine it with rice.
4. Make a sauce by beating eggs mixed with milk and flour.
5. Lay out the layers, pour over the sauce, bake for 45 minutes.

Greek lean moussaka with eggplant - recipe

The dish will be a great solution not only for meat lovers, but also for those who are a fan of a vegetable diet. In the latter case, vegetarian moussaka with eggplant would be an excellent option. In this recipe, it is allowed to replace meat with rice, it is possible to add fresh boiled or canned beans.

Ingredients:

• eggplant - 3 pcs.;
• tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
• rice - 1 cup;
• garlic - 2 cloves;
• tomato juice - 1 glass;
• greenery.

Cooking

1. Fry eggplant and tomatoes separately.
2. Boil rice, add garlic to it.
3. Put everything in several layers, pour juice, vegetable moussaka with eggplant is baked for half an hour.

Greek style moussaka with tomatoes and eggplant

There is a very common combination of vegetables used for Greek moussaka. Tomatoes and eggplants are incredibly well combined with each other, they can be found everywhere in any recipe, the component is used as a base, which can be supplemented with zucchini and mushrooms to taste.

Ingredients:

• minced meat - 0.5 kg;
• cheese - 70 g;
• eggplant - 1 kg;
• tomatoes - 300 g;
• onions - 2 pcs.;
• garlic - 4 cloves;
• butter - 30 g;
• milk - 300 ml;
• flour - 1 tbsp. l.

Cooking

1. Fry mince together with onion and garlic.
2. Stew tomatoes and combine with minced meat.
3. Prepare the sauce from milk, flour, butter.
4. Lay out the layers, pour the sauce, bake for 40 minutes.

Moussaka with chicken and eggplant

When moussaka is created in Greek with eggplant, any minced meat is included in its composition. It can consist not only of lamb and beef meat, but also of pork, turkey. An extremely successful option is moussaka with eggplant, which includes chicken meat, the dish comes out dietary and low-calorie.

Ingredients:

• eggplant - 1 kg;
• onions - 2 pcs.;
• tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
• butter - 60 g;
• flour - 4 tbsp. l.;
• milk - 0.5 l;
• eggs - 2 pcs.;
• cheese - 200 g;
• chicken - 0.5 kg.

Cooking

1. Cut and fry eggplant.
2. Boil chicken, cut.
3. Fry onions and tomatoes, add to meat.
4. Make bechamel sauce.
5. Lay in layers, pour sauce, sprinkle with cheese. Bake 45 minutes.

Real Greek moussaka
If you are in the church, please light a candle for the repose of the soul of Nicholas Tselementes. He was a kind man: he lived a long time, did a lot of good things, but most importantly, he invented moussaka!

That is, moussaka existed before - mainly in Arab countries. A cold salad of fried eggplant, spices, herbs and various fresh vegetables was moderately popular with the locals. Visiting Europeans did not favor Arabic moussaka - until the creative thought of Nikolai Tselementes turned an ordinary oriental dish into a masterpiece ... of Greek cuisine!

A young but already experienced chef decided to ennoble Arabic moussaka by mixing in French culinary traditions. And since French - then with sauce; and if the sauce is bechamel!

The use of bechamel as a filling suggested the transfer of salad from cold (which, in fact, the name of the dish says: musaqqa - “cooked cold”) into hot dishes. The focus on French satiety helped introduce meat into the moussaka recipe. Well, and cheese ... Let's be honest: cheese-free versions of bechamel went out of fashion a long time ago and firmly, although they were still eaten a hundred years ago.

It took the master twenty-two years to work out the recipe for a new dish. In any case, such a period of time separates the first magazine experiments of Tselementes from his most famous tome Odigos Mageirikis - "Cooking Guide". Even greater success awaited the book, summing up the maestro's experience in cooking. In the English-language "Greek Cooking" a place of honor was given to moussaka - by that time it was already a fully-fledged Greek dish.

In Greece, they say: "Every mother has her own moussaka." Don't be upset if Greek-style eggplant moussaka seems excessive to you. Prepare moussaka with potatoes in Bulgarian style, or with gogoshara peppers in Moldovan style, or even with soy meat in a vegetarian way. We will remember the precepts of the great Tselementes, who left the fertile Sifnos in order for us to eat deliciously, and we will prepare moussaka in Greek.

beef - 1 kg;
potatoes - 2-3 tubers;
onion - one onion;
eggplant - 1-2 pcs.;
breadcrumbs - 2-3 tablespoons;
garlic - 2 cloves;
egg - 1 pc.;
carrots - one small;
tomatoes - 1-2 pcs.;
cream - 100 ml;
hard cheese - 200 g;
olive oil - 50 ml;
salt, pepper, marjoram, nutmeg - to taste;
greens (parsley, cilantro, arugula) - for decoration.

1. Chop the beef into minced meat, salt, pepper, add a little marjoram and one nutmeg chips. Stir, refrigerate for one hour.
2. Cut the eggplant into circles, dip in the ice cream, roll in breadcrumbs, quickly fry in a hot frying pan.
3. Lubricate the bottom of the baking dish with oil, put the potatoes cut into half circles, chopped onions on top of the potatoes. Level the minced meat with the third layer. Put the grated carrots on the meat. Place the fried eggplant on top of the carrots. Lay the tomato slices on the eggplant.
4. Grate cheese on a fine grater, add a little freshly ground black pepper and nutmeg chips, cream. Mix, lay out the topmost layer.
5. Place the container in the oven (temperature 180°C) for one hour.

Ancient and eternally young Hellas not only generously shares with its guests its rich and unique history, picturesque seascapes, beautiful resorts, good nature and hospitality of the inhabitants, but also the tastes and aromas of its national dishes.

And everyone who has been here dreams of returning at least for a short time in order to once again enjoy the unique charm of this wonderful country and the magnificent “taste holiday” of Greek cuisine.

For those who have not yet been to Greece, and for those who, after visiting this wonderful country, have retained warm memories of small cozy taverns, I suggest making an exciting journey in the form of a small culinary adventure called “Traditional Greek Moussaka Dish”.

Let's join the feast of taste together as we explore the history of the famous Greek dish and how it is prepared.

A bit of history

What is moussaka?
Moussaka (emphasis on the last syllable) is a casserole of eggplant and lamb, sometimes ground beef, pork or chicken, topped with a thick layer of béchamel sauce, which becomes hard and golden in color during cooking.

I do not at all think that Socrates or Demosthenes tried moussaka. It was not served either in ancient Athens or in the glorious Sparta. And she could not appear in those ancient times. However, this dish has its own interesting history..

Its main components - eggplants, having passed their winding path from East India to ancient China, and at the same time to Central Asia and Egypt, only in the XIII century come from the Arab countries to Italy, and then to Spain and Greece.

Europeans did not eat them for a long time, thinking that they were poisonous. The Greeks began to cultivate and consume eggplant only at the end of the 19th century. The name "moussaka" itself is first found in an old Arabic book of the thirteenth century known as the Baghdad Cookbook.

But the method of preparing the ancient Arabic moussaka bears little resemblance to the Greek one, just as the culinary recipes of dishes under the same name, which are prepared in Libya, Turkey and Moldova, are not similar to it.

Became Moussaka is the culinary calling card of Greece, which is so loved by gourmets in many countries of the world, was invented by the famous chef Nikos Tselemendis at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The famous Greek culinary specialist studied his art in Vienna, and then, returning to Greece, worked as a cook in various foreign embassies.
In 1919, he became the general director of the large Ermis Hotel, but in the same year, leaving this prestigious post for unknown reasons, he left for America.

There he worked in many of the famous and most expensive American restaurants, while graduating in three specialties: cook, confectioner and nutritionist.

Returning to Greece in 1932, Nikos founded a small pastry school and at the same time wrote a cookbook in which he published his own recipes. The cookbook quickly became wildly popular and was reprinted 15 times in a single decade.
Until now, it is the desktop for many famous Greek chefs.

As Tselemendis himself explains, in his culinary creations he wanted to combine traditional Greek products with the best inventions of fine European cuisine, of which he was an ardent admirer.
This was successfully done in moussaka!

From the combination of vegetables and lamb familiar to every Greek peasant with French bechamel sauce, Greek moussaka really became a world culinary masterpiece and gained immense popularity first among the Greeks themselves, and then in the world.

Does moussaka come with lobster

Even some two or three decades ago, the world knew almost nothing about Greek cuisine.

There is a certain stereotype that Greek cuisine is very simple dishes without any frills, and Greek chefs prepare them according to the recipes of their grandmothers or aunts - these dishes will definitely not surprise gourmets with their variety and taste.
Just think, a simple Greek moussaka, why be surprised?

However, I will give a few examples of the incredible popularity of Greek dishes..

Young Greek Chef Nikos Karvelas, who currently lives in New York, opened his family restaurant there, which has become a very fashionable establishment among the most sophisticated and expensive restaurants in America.
It is visited by many world celebrities such as Chris Cornell - the vocalist of Soundgarden, the famous singer Rihanna, David Blaine - the famous magician and magician, the Brazilian king of football Pele, the pop diva Madonna and many others.

As you know, world stars are very capricious in choosing products. For example, Madonna does not eat meat, but only fish or seafood, and Pele hates eggplant. But meat and eggplant are the main ingredients of Greek moussaka, and yet celebrities order it among other Greek dishes. How so?

Nikos believes that everyone has the right to their quirks, and world celebrities, and ordinary visitors, so he tries to please any client. Upon learning that Madonna wanted to try Greek moussaka, he replaced lamb with lobster meat for the pop diva, and eggplant for papaya for Pele. And then, he watched the surprise and delight on the faces of his customers when they tried his creations.

Charalambos Nikolaides, probably the only Greek living in far northern Alaska. He taught the Eskimos and Aleuts to eat moussaka, tzatziki, spanakopita and other Greek dishes.. Surprisingly, it's true!

Charalambos, having arrived at the Ice Sculpture Festival, held annually in the small town of Fairbanks, was fascinated by its harsh northern beauty and decided to stay here. He bought himself a small wooden frame, where he settled with his wife.

Here they opened a Greek restaurant, which is in constant demand among local residents, who liked all Greek dishes, and especially moussaka. They consider it the best delicacy in the world..

And on the other side of the world in distant Australia in 2012, a book was published that became the bestseller of the year and this is not a detective story, not an adventure, not a fashionable fantasy or an essay on psychology.

The book is called "My Greek Cuisine", and its author is an Australian of Greek origin Maria Bale who was born in Melbourne. Her mother is a Greek woman from the Peloponnese.
Maria explains the success of her book very simply:

“I really wanted to give my children the treasure left to me by my mother - the recipes for traditional Greek dishes that she has been collecting for many years.

When I wrote it, I realized that this is a gift not only to them, but to all my readers who love Greek cuisine.”

And the recipe that flaunts on the front page of her book is Greek moussaka.

Well, it's time for us to arrange this little celebration of taste, cook and treat ourselves and our loved ones with this wonderful dish!

Recipe for classic Greek moussaka with eggplant, potatoes and minced meat

From childhood, I remember that the preparation of moussaka in our house began with disputes between my grandmother and her girlfriends whether they put potatoes in moussaka or not. Some argued that they must be put, others that real moussaka is prepared only with eggplant.

I think that such disputes arose not only in our kitchen, but also in many other Greek houses. They continue to this day. But nevertheless, whether or not my grandmother put potatoes in the dish, it has always been for me one of the most favorite ones prepared by her. I cook moussaka with potatoes for my family. My husband and kids love this dish.

To prepare moussaka we need:

• 1 kg eggplant (about 6-7 medium fruits);
• 400-450 grams of potatoes (about 5 pieces of medium size);
• 100 grams of grated parmesan cheese;
• 2-3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs;
• 2 tablespoons .

For the meat filling:

• 500 gr ground beef;
• 250 g of minced pork (who does not eat pork, you can replace it with chicken or lamb);
• half a tea cup of olive oil;
• 2 medium sized onions;
• 3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped;
• a little green parsley:
• 400 gr. fresh tomatoes;
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste;
• half a glass of white dry;
• 1 teaspoon of sugar;
• 1 cinnamon stick;
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg;
• 1 bay leaf;
• 4 allspice peas, salt and black pepper to taste.

For the bechamel sauce:

• 5 tablespoons of butter;
• 5 tablespoons of flour;
• ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg;
• 150 gr grated hard low-melting cheese;
• half a teaspoon of salt;
• 1 liter of milk;
• a little olive oil 1-2 tablespoons.

Preparation of all components

1. First of all, let's prepare the eggplant. Wash, peel the stalks and cut them into medium-sized slices of about 1 cm. In a bowl, make a salt brine for 0.5 liters of water, 1 tablespoon of coarse salt, and soak the eggplants in it for 1 hour so that all the bitterness comes out of them. While the eggplant is taking a salt bath, we put a deep frying pan on the fire and add 2 tablespoons of oil to it.

2. We rub 2 medium onions on a coarse grater, and fry them until golden brown, then put the mixed minced meat in the pan and mix well with the fried onions. Add chopped garlic, and then dry wine and again mix everything well.

3. While the wine is evaporating, peel the tomatoes and three of them on a fine grater, put the resulting mass in a pan with the minced meat and mix everything well again. Dissolve the tomato paste in water and pour into the pan.

4. We put our spices: nutmeg, bay leaf, allspice, cinnamon. Salt, pepper and add sugar to taste, reduce the heat to a minimum and leave the mixture to simmer until all the liquid has evaporated.

5. Before turning off the fire, take out the cinnamon, bay leaf and allspice from the mixture, sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and mix the mixture again.

6. We take out the eggplants, wash them in cold water, put them in a colander and let the water drain.

7. We clean, wash and cut the potatoes into medium-sized circles and put the potatoes on a baking sheet covered with baking paper and lightly greased with olive oil. We put the baking sheet in the oven preheated to 180 degrees for 10 minutes.

8. We do the same procedure with eggplants previously dried with a paper towel.

Attention! Many Greek housewives fry eggplants and potatoes in a frying pan, in a small amount of oil on both sides for several minutes.
In any case, whichever method you choose, remember: the vegetables must be brought to half-cooked so that they do not fall apart during the assembly of the casserole itself.

Now you can start preparing the bechamel sauce.

How to make bechamel sauce

- a dish of Greek cuisine, which is a casserole of eggplant, minced meat and potatoes. This is in short. But the details will be below.

Moussaka is not done quickly, but all efforts are worth it. The dish is very satisfying and at the same time it cannot be called too heavy. Good, tasty, solid food, which is appropriate not only at the usual everyday table. And during your holidays, moussaka will adequately take its place among the dishes that you will treat your guests to.

To make moussaka you will need:

The number of products presented in the photo was just enough to completely fill out the form 25x 18x 6 cm.

• Eggplant. 4 small.
• Potato. 4 medium tubers.
• Chopped meat. 500 gr. You can use any minced meat - lamb, beef, pork or mixed. Here beef and pork 1:1.
• Tomatoes. grams 300-400.
• Onion. 1 bulb.
• Garlic. 2-3 cloves.
• Parsley. 1 bunch.
• Wine. White dry. 100 ml.
• Vegetable oil. Needed for frying. so it's hard to pinpoint the exact number.
• Black freshly ground pepper.
• Cheese. Optional. I don’t specifically indicate which one - here it’s to the taste of the cook. As long as it melts well.

And for the sauce you will need:

• Milk. 500 ml.
• Egg. 2 pcs.
• Flour. 2 tbsp. heaped spoons.
• Butter. 70-100 gr.
• Cheese Parmesan. 50-60gr. Unlike the previous list, where cheese is only an option, in the sauce cheese is a must .
• Salt.

Moussaka is ready.

Once again I would like to warn you - the dish requires sufficient time, effort and attention. If possible, some of the ingredients, such as sauce and minced meat, can be prepared the day before.

Cooking minced meat for moussaka.

Let's start with minced meat. Almost in parallel with the minced meat, you can start cooking the sauce.

Finely chop the onion.

Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan and fry the onion over a fairly high heat until golden. It is best to immediately add a little salt so that the onion fries faster and better.

As the onion is golden, spread the minced meat to the onion and fry everything together, breaking large pieces with a spatula.

Along the way, cut the eggplant into rings about 5 mm thick, sprinkle with salt and put in a colander so that the moisture that appears can drain off.

On the topic of slicing eggplant. In this dish, there is no difference how exactly they are cut, in rings or petals - that is, along or across. In any case, in the final, moussaka will be cut into portions, so no beauty is required for eggplant. The main thing is that the cutting should be uniform in thickness, and the size of each piece is not particularly important.

Finely chop the garlic. It is cut, and not squeezed out with a garlic press.

Minced meat in a saucepan will first give juice, which must be evaporated, stirring the minced meat and breaking large pieces with a spatula. As soon as the meat juice has evaporated and the minced meat has begun to fry, add garlic and salt to it.

Slightly fry everything together. Pour 100 ml of dry white wine into the roasting minced meat, mix and let the wine evaporate.

Cut the tomatoes finely enough. If you really want to, you can remove the skin from them, but I usually do not do this. If there are no good tomatoes, you can take ready-made tomatoes in their own juice or passata.

Add the tomatoes to the mince.

Stir and reduce the fire.

Parsley leaves are cut off from the stems, the stems are thrown away, and the leaves are finely chopped.

Add the chopped parsley to the minced meat and mix again.

We leave to stew for 30 minutes. The goal is to let the minced meat stew in the juice of tomatoes, simultaneously evaporating the maximum amount of moisture.

For moussaka, the minced meat must be dry enough.

On this, the preparation of the meat component for the moussaka can be considered complete, so we proceed to the preparation of the sauce, we will just have time to make it, while the minced meat over low heat comes to readiness.

Making moussaka sauce.

Greek moussaka can be a delicious treat for a feast in a noisy company, as well as for dinner in a family circle. The traditional dish looks like a casserole, where layers of blue ones alternate with lamb, tomatoes. It is covered with white sauce, then baked. Now there are many options for cooking casseroles in Greek.

How to cook Greek-style moussaka with eggplant

The treat is a traditional Greek dish. In the authentic version, it consists of several layers: the first is blue ones, followed by minced meat with tomatoes and vegetables. Moussaka with eggplant ends with bechamel sauce, which gives it a unique taste. Sometimes it is allowed to use potatoes if you want to make the dish more saturated.

Greek moussaka recipes with eggplant

Greek casserole recipes may differ from each other, it all depends on where exactly it is prepared. However, the invariable ingredient is eggplant. As for meat, the traditional option involves the use of lamb, but you can use any minced meat at your discretion. Greek-style eggplant, cooked in a large baking dish, is sure to become the centerpiece of any holiday.

You can diversify the dish if you add another layer - potatoes. It can be used boiled, fried or raw, allowing you to change the taste without much effort. Vegetables, minced meat, potatoes go well together on one plate. It's also very tasty. The recipe for moussaka with eggplant and Greek potatoes is very simple, many can do it, and it cooks quickly, especially if there are photos explaining everything step by step.

Ingredients:

• potatoes, eggplant - 2 pcs.;
• onion - 1 pc.;
• garlic - 3 teeth;
• tomatoes - 1 pc.;
• tomato paste - 3 tbsp. l.;
• red wine - 0.5 tbsp.;
• chicken egg - 1 pc.;
• for the sauce: butter, flour - 0.5 tbsp each, cream - 3 tbsp, salt, pepper, spices.

Cooking method:

1. Chop onion and garlic.
2. Pass the meat through a meat grinder, fry. Add chopped tomato, tomato paste, spices, wine to the pan. Simmer for about half an hour. Cool, stir in the beaten egg.
3. Cut the potatoes into thin rings, do the same with the other vegetable. Put the blue ones on a paper towel, salt, leave for 15-20 minutes, fry. Simmer the potatoes a little in boiling salted water.
4. Put potatoes in a baking dish, other vegetables on top, the next layer will be meat filling with tomato, put blue ones on minced meat, pour bechamel.
5. To prepare the sauce, fry the flour, melt the butter, mix them. Pour in the cream and continue stirring until thickened. Season with pepper, nutmeg.
6. After the form is filled with sauce, it must be put in the oven for an hour at 170 ° C.

Moussaka - classic recipe

This eggplant casserole is traditional, because minced lamb and blue ones are used here. The recipe has stood the test of time. Classic Greek moussaka is an incredibly tasty dish, so relatives and friends, having tried it once, will certainly ask you to repeat it. Eggplant casserole with minced meat will be an advantageous decoration of the festive table.

Ingredients:

• lamb - 1 kg;
• onions - 2 pcs.;
• garlic - 2 teeth;
• dry white wine - 100 ml;
• little blue ones - 3 pcs.;
• tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
• for filling: parmesan - 150 g, egg 1 pc., butter - 2 tbsp. l., flour - 0.5 tbsp., milk - 1.5 tbsp., parsley.

Cooking method:

1. Grind the meat with a meat grinder.
2. Chop the onion, garlic, sauté, put the minced meat there, fry.
3. Turn tomatoes into gruel, pour over minced meat, throw in cloves, coriander, salt, pepper, simmer for a quarter of an hour. Pour in wine, bring to a boil.
4. Cut eggplant into circles, mix with salt, let stand for 10 minutes. After that, rinse, dry, fry on both sides, remove excess oil.
5. Put half the vegetables into the mold, followed by half the minced meat, after which the layers are repeated.
6. Heat oil in a saucepan, mix with flour, simmer, stirring. In a separate bowl, heat the milk, add the egg, pour the liquid into a container with flour. Cook for 5 more minutes. Add grated cheese and herbs. Brush the surface of the casserole with the mixture.
7. Place the mold in the oven for 25 minutes at 200°C.

Moussaka in a slow cooker

Greek casserole is a very tasty dish, therefore, to get real pleasure, it is cooked in large portions. You can cook it not only in the oven, but also in a slow cooker, the taste will not change from this. Some even prefer this way of cooking. Moussaka in a slow cooker will impress your family even more, because it cooks much faster and it turns out delicious. Step by step photos will help to do this.

Ingredients:

• eggplant - 2 pcs.;
• onions - 2 pcs.,
• veal - 700 g;
• potatoes - 2 pcs.;
• dry wine - 0.5 glasses;
• tomato paste;
• parmesan - 100 g;
• cinnamon;
• for the sauce: butter - 125 grams; flour, milk, 3 tablespoons; salt.

Cooking method:

1. Prepare the main vegetable, fry on both sides.
2. Chop the onion and garlic, simmer in oil in the multicooker bowl on the frying mode.
3. Twist the meat, add to the onion, add cinnamon at the end, then pour in the wine, cook until the liquid evaporates, then add the tomato paste.
4. Prepare bechamel sauce.
5. Cut potatoes into rings.
6. Cut long ribbons from baking paper, moisten them with vegetable oil, spread them on the bottom of the multicooker. Put the fried potatoes, pour them with milk sauce, cover with a layer of minced meat, sprinkle with grated parmesan, cover with vegetables, pour sauce over everything, repeat.
7. Next, you need to bake the dish. Turn on the multicooker in baking mode for 40 minutes.

This simple recipe is perfect for daily cooking. Greek-style moussaka with rice and eggplant has a very original taste due to the combination of spicy blue and delicate creamy sauce. If you are a fan of such combinations, then this dish from Greece should certainly become the main one in the diet. Yes, and the photo shows that it is unique.

Ingredients:

• rice - 100 g;
• eggplant - 200 g;
• red onion - 1 pc.;
• tomatoes - 5 pcs.;
• bell pepper - 2 pcs.;
• adjika - 3 tbsp. l.;
• milk - 1.5 tbsp.;
• flour - 3 tbsp. l.;
• cheese - 100 g.

Cooking method:

1. Little blue ones, fry the pepper, add onions and tomatoes, stew a little.
2. Add adjika, garlic, spices, simmer until moisture is completely evaporated.
3. Boil the rice until cooked, cool a little and mix with the egg, put in a mold.
4. Top with vegetable mixture and top with cream sauce. Sprinkle with cheese, bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 230°C. Moussaka in Greek with eggplant is ready.

Vegetarian moussaka

Knowing how to cook Greek moussaka without meat will be useful not only for vegetarians, but also for fasting people. It is worth adding a little more cheese and tomatoes, and almost no one will notice the absence of lamb. Everyone, without exception, will like vegetarian Greek moussaka, even skeptics who do not believe that dishes without meat can be delicious.

Ingredients:

• eggplant - 5 pcs.;
• tomatoes - 0.5 kg;
• cheese - 400 g;
• bell pepper, onion - 1 pc.;
• garlic, salt, Italian herbs.

Cooking method:

1. Cut blue ones lengthwise thinly, fry on the grill.
2. Chop onion and garlic, fry, then add chopped tomatoes and peppers. Simmer for 7 minutes.
3. Grate the cheese.
4. Put eggplant filling, tomatoes, cheese in layers in a form. Repeat. Bake 30 min (200°C).

Video: how to cook moussaka with eggplant and minced meat