Recipe for Greek moussaka with eggplant and potatoes

The appetizing dish moussaka comes from Greece and the Middle East. Moussaka is a flavorful baked mixture of minced meat and vegetables. The recipes for the dish are very diverse; the composition of the ingredients and methods of preparing moussaka depend on the different countries in which this hearty treat is served. Moussaka with potatoes and minced meat recipe can be prepared from lamb, beef or veal mince, but in some places it is prepared without meat, producing vegetable moussaka. In some countries, potatoes and bell peppers are added to the dish, and in some countries they add sour cream and chicken eggs. The main ingredients of moussaka that are always used are thinly sliced eggplant, juicy tomatoes and onions. The cooking method is similar for different recipes: the meat is twisted in a meat grinder, the vegetables are cut into thin slices, the cabbage is shredded into strips. Greek moussaka with eggplant and potatoes is sprinkled with finely chopped herbs, poured with aromatic sour cream or cream sauce and baked in the oven.

Recipe 1: moussaka with minced meat and broccoli (with photo)

I want to share with you a recipe for a very interesting casserole of vegetables and minced meat. The taste is so amazing that the dish will become a worthy decoration for the holiday table, although I prepared it as a regular Sunday dish.

Potatoes (boiled) - 650 g
Broccoli – 400 g
Minced meat (mixed or beef) - 350 g
Onion - 1 pc.
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp. l.
Salt
Butter - 2 tbsp. l.
Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp. l.
Broth (or water) - 250 ml
Oregano (dried) - 0.5 tsp.
Tomato (large) - 1 pc.
Cream - 250 ml
Soft cheese – 50 g
Dutch cheese (or other) - 50 g
Nutmeg (ground)
Black pepper (ground)

Boil the potatoes.

At this time, heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the minced meat in it well (I used beef, but you can use any). Add onion, cut into small cubes, and tomato paste to the minced meat.

Add broth or water, simmer over low heat for 5-10 minutes, add salt and season with oregano.

Divide the broccoli into florets (frozen can be used) and blanch in salted boiling water for approx. 5 minutes. Express.

Cut the tomatoes into slices.

Mash the finished boiled, strained potatoes and add butter, warm milk, puree and set aside 2-3 tbsp. l.

Grease a baking dish with vegetable oil and lay out a layer of 2/3 of the minced meat. On the sides are broccoli florets.

Place tomato slices on top of the minced meat and a layer of mashed potatoes on top.

Place another 1/3 of the minced meat on top. Make walnut-sized balls from the reserved mashed potatoes and place in the center.

Heat the cream and add cream and hard cheeses, let them melt.

Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and herbs.

Pour this sauce over the moussaka casserole.

Bake in an oven preheated to 200*C for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown.

Greek moussaka with eggplant and zucchini

Greek moussaka, in addition to eggplant, includes the required ingredients such as minced meat and bechamel sauce. Today we’ll diversify our dish a little by adding zucchini to the classic recipe. I offer you an excellent recipe for moussaka with eggplant and zucchini.

Ingredients:

Eggplants - 1 pc.
Zucchini – 1 pc.
Minced beef – 350 g.
Onion - 1 pc.
Tomatoes – 2 pcs.
Hard cheese – 120 g.
White wine – 80 ml
Parsley – 3 tbsp
Cinnamon – 1 pinch.
Salt to taste.
Ground black pepper to taste.
Milk – 200 ml.
Butter – 20 g.
Egg – 1 pc.
Wheat flour – 15 g.
Vegetable oil 100 g.
Nutmeg – 1 pinch.

Cooking process:

First, wash the eggplant and zucchini, cut them into rings about 0.5 cm thick, rub salt into the eggplant pieces and leave to “rest” for 20-25 minutes. Afterwards, they must be rinsed in cold water and dried well with napkins. Place both the zucchini and eggplants in a hot frying pan, greased with oil, and fry until golden brown, but not completely cooked. Next, place on paper towels.
In order to prepare the sauce, heat the butter in a saucepan and add flour, stir the mass well so that there are no lumps in it. When the flour turns brown, add preheated milk and stir until smooth. After 3 minutes, add grated cheese. Without ceasing to stir, wait for the cheese to melt, add salt, add nutmeg, stir and turn off the gas stove. Pour our sauce into a deep container and, stirring constantly, add the beaten egg. Cover the container with cling film and begin processing the minced meat and onions.
Sauté the onion in a frying pan, having previously chopped it, add the minced meat, fry everything together for a few minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, cinnamon, parsley and wine. Mix the whole mass and simmer in a frying pan until all the liquid has evaporated.
Assembling the casserole: take a baking dish and lay out a thick layer of eggplants, zucchini, followed by all the minced beef, then eggplants and zucchini again. After this, the dish is filled with sauce and sprinkled with cheese. The dish is baked at 170 or 180 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Make sure that the liquid evaporates, but the moussaka does not have time to burn!
Before serving, let the finished dish cool, this way the edges of the cut dish will be preserved and the piece will not spread across the plate. Bon appetit!

Recipe 2, step by step: moussaka with potatoes and minced meat

Moussaka is a Greek casserole traditionally prepared by adding eggplant and lamb. Well, unfortunately, we can’t always have lamb on hand, but our soul demands that our favorite potatoes be included in the hot dish. Therefore, I suggest you prepare a moussaka dish with potatoes. Surely, this recipe will conquer you and become a regular on the family table, as well as a signature dish on your holiday table.

For filling

Eggplants 4 pieces
Potatoes 1 kilogram
Minced beef 500 grams
Tomatoes 4 pieces
Onion 1 piece
Garlic 1 clove
Bay leaf 2–3 pieces
Dried herbs 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste

For filling

Wheat flour 4 tablespoons
Butter 100 grams
Milk 2.5 cups
Egg 1 piece (selected)
Hard cheese 100 grams
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes and rinse thoroughly. Using a sharp knife, cut the root vegetable into circles and place thin slices on a paper towel to remove excess moisture.

Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the potatoes until golden brown.

Wash the eggplants well and cut off the tail. Chop the vegetables into thin slices and dry with towels in the same way as potatoes. Then fry the eggplant slices until golden brown. There is no need to cut off the peel.

Rinse the tomatoes with warm water and cut into small cubes. Don't crush them and don't forget to cut out the place where the tail used to be.

Before peeling, cut the onion in half; as practice shows, it is easier to peel the peel off the halves. Chop the clean onion as finely as possible.

Peel the garlic clove and chop it in any way convenient for an hour: rub it, chop it or pass it through a special press.

Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the garlic and onion along with the minced meat over high heat for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer for another 10 minutes. Don't forget to mix using a special spatula! After the minced meat turns brown and the onion is transparent, add the desired spices and chopped tomatoes to the pan. Simmer for another 15 minutes. All water should be corrected.

While the minced meat is frying, you have time to prepare the filling. Therefore, take a small frying pan and melt the specified amount of butter in it. Fry the flour in oil for 1-2 minutes, stirring all the time. And then gradually add milk, the sauce should have a thick consistency, as soon as it becomes so, remove it from the stove and cool slightly. Then add the egg, seasonings and grate about half of the cheese you have.

Place the potatoes in a dish greased with vegetable oil; they form a crispy base for our casserole; place half of the prepared eggplants on top of the potatoes, and dump half of the minced meat on top; repeat two more layers. Pour the prepared cream cheese sauce over the raw moussaka and place in the oven preheated to 180 degrees for 45 minutes. 10-15 minutes before cooking, sprinkle the casserole with the remaining grated cheese so that it is covered with an appetizing brown crust.

Remove the finished moussaka from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes, then cut into portions and serve.

Serve moussaka with potatoes with sour cream or tomato sauce; you can season it with fresh tomatoes or herbs. Of course, no additional side dish is needed. Bon appetit!

Bulgarian moussaka in a frying pan

This recipe can be prepared in a frying pan, without the additional step of cooking in the oven. It may not always be possible to use it.

Do everything the same, only first fry the potatoes and then simmer with the lid closed with a small amount of water in a frying pan.

Then pour the same fill into it. Cover with a lid and wait until the filling looks like an omelette. Turn off the heat and leave in the pan for another 10 minutes. Then place it in portions on a plate.

It is better to make a recipe for cooking in a frying pan with the addition of flour, otherwise when placing it on a plate you will not be able to place it in a uniform piece. The potatoes will crumble. If this is not essential, then you can do without flour.

In both versions, the moussaka turns out very tasty. It will be difficult to even choose which one tastes better.

In both the first and second cases, you can cook it without meat at all. This is what I do, because we have a vegetarian in our family. And he really loves potatoes cooked this way. Here I do not presume to call it moussaka, since this Middle Eastern dish still requires the presence of either meat or minced meat.

And of course, you can add eggplant to this dish. This is how it is traditionally prepared in Bulgaria, in areas closer to Greece.

Well, you choose for yourself how you will prepare it. And you definitely need to cook. The dish is tasty and very worthy. And although it is now prepared in some cafes, and even in some fast food chains, you will not eat such a dish as you can prepare at home anywhere else. Well, unless you go to Bulgaria itself.

Bon appetit!

Author of the publication

offline 22 minutes

Recipe 3: vegetable flour with minced meat (step-by-step photos)

Minced beef - 600 g.
Eggplants - 600 g.
Tomatoes (red) - 400 g
Potatoes - 600 g.
Dry white (table) wine – 200 ml
Milk – 500 ml
Butter - 50 g.
Onions - 100 g.
Wheat flour - 40 g.
Olive oil – 80 ml
Parsley (dried) - 2 tsp.
Brown sugar - 5 g.
Ground cinnamon - ½ tsp.
Grated nutmeg - ¼ tsp.
Sea salt - 1 tsp.

Let's start with the eggplants, cut them lengthwise into slices about 1 cm thick. Place on a baking sheet, sprinkle each “tongue” with olive oil. Send to already heated to 180 degrees. oven for about half an hour until soft.

Meanwhile, fry the chopped onion in a frying pan until translucent. Then add the minced meat to the onion, mix well and cook until the meat gets rid of its pink tint. Then pour in the wine, stir, reduce the heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes.

Remove the skin from the tomatoes, to do this, make a cross-shaped cut on the front part and pour boiling water over them, that is, blanch them. Cut the peeled tomatoes into small pieces, put them in a blender and puree them,

Then add to the minced meat, season with salt and pepper, cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sprinkle with spices. If suddenly the meat sauce for the casserole turns out to be sour, add a little sugar. Mix well and remove from heat.

Next, for our casserole (moussaka), you need to peel the potatoes, cut them into rings 0.5 cm thick, add salt and fry until tender.

Now take a baking dish and lay out the prepared ingredients in layers: potatoes in the first layer, minced meat in the second, baked eggplants on top and pour bechamel sauce on top.

To prepare it, you need to fry the flour in butter until light golden brown. Pour in the milk in a small stream, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from appearing. Cook until the white sauce thickens, stir constantly, season with salt and nutmeg.

Let cool and pour into the layered casserole. Place the Greek moussaka in the oven (190C) for 35-40 minutes. The prepared casserole can be served either hot or cold; cold moussaka is better cut. Bon appetit!

Recipe 4: Moussaka with minced meat and tomatoes in Greek style

Eggplant – 1 kg
Pepper - 0.5 teaspoon (to taste)
Salt - 1 tbsp. spoon (to taste)
Potatoes - 800 g
Onions - 200 g
Garlic - 2 cloves
Olive oil - 5 tbsp. spoons
Rosemary - 1 teaspoon
Thyme (thyme, Bogorodskaya herb) - 1 teaspoon
Sage - 1 teaspoon
Minced meat - 400 g
Fresh tomatoes - 400 g
or canned tomatoes - 400 g
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp. spoons
Eggs - 3 pcs.
Milk – 125 ml
Cheese - 200 g
Nutmeg - on the tip of a knife (to taste)

How to prepare moussaka with minced meat and vegetables: cut the eggplants into slices, add salt and let stand.

Wash the potatoes, cover with cold water, and boil in their jackets until tender (about 20 minutes).

Peel the onion, wash it, cut it into cubes.

Peel the garlic and chop finely.

Wash the tomatoes and grate them.

Sauté onion and garlic in 1 tbsp. spoon of vegetable oil over medium heat, stirring, 1-2 minutes.

Add minced meat with herbs.

Fry everything over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, spices and herbs.

Simmer covered over low heat for 20 minutes.

Wash the eggplants, dry and fry in the remaining oil for 5 minutes.

Peel the potatoes and cut into slices.

Turn on the oven. Grease a baking dish with oil and place eggplants in it in layers.

Then minced meat with tomatoes.

The last layer is potatoes.

Grate the cheese on a coarse grater.

Mix eggs with milk and cheese, salt and pepper, add nutmeg.

Pour the resulting mixture over the vegetables and minced meat.

Place the pan in the oven on the middle shelf.

Moussaka with eggplant and minced meat is baked in the oven preheated to 200 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Moussaka with eggplant and potatoes is ready. Bon appetit!

Greek moussaka with eggplant and mushrooms

The recipe below includes both basic ingredients and a little improvisation in the form of sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms.

Ingredients:

Eggplants - 1 kg.
Onion - 2 pcs.
Minced beef (lamb) - 350 gr.
Champignons – 350 g.
Tomatoes - 3 pcs.
Sun-dried tomatoes - 4-5 pcs.
Dry red wine - 150 ml.
Cheese - 100 gr.
Butter - 70 gr.
Milk - 1 glass.
Flour - 1.5 tbsp. l.
Spices, salt, pepper, olive oil.

Cooking process:

This dish is based on eggplants and thanks to them, when portioned, the dish retains its shape. If you want it to be successful, then choose not old fruits without mature seeds. Often during the cooking process the question arises: to peel or not to peel the fruit? In the classic recipe, the eggplants are left with the skin on, but if you still want the dish to be even more tender, you can peel them. In fact, when you place the dish in the oven, the skin will be softer and the taste will not be noticeable. Also try to choose fruits that do not have brown or black spots. How you cut the fruits is not particularly important, lengthwise into plates or across into circles. Your task is to ensure that the fruit preparations fit comfortably into a layer without voids. The thickness should not exceed one cm. Afterwards, the eggplants should be lightly fried in a regular frying pan or grill pan. Alternatively, they can be baked in the oven. However, before heat treatment, they must be salted and allowed to stand for 20 minutes, so that later the vegetables do not taste bitter. Then they need to be washed, dried and fried with a small amount of oil.
The next step is to fry the ground beef in olive oil. Do not forget that during frying it must be stirred constantly. Leave the minced meat to simmer over low heat until the liquid evaporates, and in the meantime chop the onions and tomatoes. The latter must first be removed from the skin using boiling water. Onions and tomatoes are added to the minced meat and the mixture is simmered for 5 to 7 minutes. After the time has passed, pour in the wine. If you don't have red, add white or even brandy. Next are the spices: bay leaf, oregano, allspice, cinnamon, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest, chili pepper flakes - choose to suit your taste. Leave the heat on low and wait for the liquid to evaporate, but stir the mixture periodically.
Now let's move on to the Bechamel sauce. Heat butter in a saucepan, frying pan or any thick-bottomed bowl and then add flour. Gently mix it with the oil, do not stop stirring until the mass becomes thick. The sauce should simmer well, so don’t turn the heat up too high, let the mixture almost boil. Now remove the sauce from the heat and carefully add the milk, but before doing this you need to warm it up slightly. The sauce will immediately change consistency, becoming thinner, but after a couple of minutes it will again become thick, like cream. And now, the base of the sauce is ready; if you wish, you can add grated cheese or egg yolk, whichever you like best. It would be great to spice it up with some nutmeg!
Now everything is ready to begin directly assembling the moussaka. To do this, you need a baking dish with high sides. Place eggplants in the first layer, followed by minced meat and champignons. They must first be cleaned and cut into halves. Then the layers are repeated. If the quantity of prepared products allows you, then there can be as many layers as possible. However, remember that a casserole that is too high may not bake well in the oven. The display must be completed with eggplants. Sprinkle cheese on top and pour in the already prepared sauce. Next, take the foil and close the mold around the entire perimeter. Preheat the oven, set it to 180 degrees and wait 15 minutes, remove the foil and wait another 15. Make sure that the casserole does not burn. Once you remove it from the oven, let it cool for 15-20 minutes and you are ready to serve. Bon appetit!

Recipe 5: Greek moussaka with minced meat in the oven

Preparing this dish will take some time and require some skill. But even if you spend your time preparing the moussaka, the result is worth it! This is a large dish that is enough for a small group of guests and is equally delicious hot or cold.

2-3 potatoes;
2 blue eggplants;
300-400 g minced beef;
1 large tomato or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste;
1 sweet bell pepper;
1 onion;
a mixture of herbs and spices for meat;
olive oil;
salt, ground black pepper - to taste;

Bechamel sauce:

50 g butter;
2 tablespoons white flour;
half a liter of milk;
2 eggs;
250 g grated cheese (usually sharp soft cheese is used).

Cut the eggplants into slices about 1 cm thick. Salt the eggplant pieces on each side, place them on a plate and leave them for at least 20 minutes.

Peel the potatoes, cut into slices, salt and fry them in olive oil on both sides.

Place the fried potatoes as the first layer in a baking dish (or on a baking sheet).

Peel and chop the onion. Heat a frying pan with olive oil, add chopped onion and fry over low heat until soft.

Remove the seeds from the bell pepper, chop it finely and add it to the pan with the onions. Stir and cook the vegetables together for about 5 minutes.

Increase the heat under the pan, add the ground beef and fry it along with the vegetables for another 5 minutes.

Add chopped tomato (or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste), salt and ground black pepper, mix everything well.

Simmer the meat with vegetables and tomatoes for about 15 minutes. Finally add the herb and spice mixture. Place the meat and vegetables in the next layer on top of the potatoes in the baking dish.

Drain off the liquid that the salted eggplants have released (you can remove the excess salt with a paper towel if you salted them too generously). Heat a frying pan with olive oil and fry each eggplant slice on both sides.

Place the eggplants on top of the meat and vegetables in a third layer in a moussaka baking dish.

Now you need to prepare the bechamel sauce. To do this, place a saucepan on low heat and melt 50-60 g of butter in it. Add 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir the butter and flour together thoroughly, making sure the heat is low and the flour is not burning.

Start adding milk to the pan, cup by cup, thoroughly stirring it into the butter and flour. Keep the sauce on the heat, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken.

Break the eggs and mix them in a separate bowl. Remove the sauce from the heat and pour in the eggs. Quickly and thoroughly stir the sauce, add salt and stir until smooth.

Pour the prepared sauce over all layers of the prepared dish.

Top with grated cheese. Place the pan in the oven, preheated to 200 degrees. From 45 minutes to an hour (depending on the size of the form).

When finished baking, remove the pan from the oven and leave for 20-30 minutes to allow the dish to cool slightly. Then cut it and serve as a main dish (you can add Tartak sauce). Bon appetit!

How to cook moussaka in the oven

For ease of understanding, we will conditionally divide the entire cooking process into 3 stages.

Stage 1 of preparation:

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan or cauldron. I use a “good old cauldron”, which is also 30 years old. It has never seen or cooked any kind of dishes. He saw all my mistakes and rejoiced with me in my successes. Now we have become such friends with him that he never lets me down. Everything that is cooked in it turns out delicious. The Uzbek pilafs alone are worth it!

2. When the oil becomes hot, add the onion to the cauldron. Fry it until slightly golden brown. We will do everything on high heat, then I will tell you when it needs to be reduced.

3. Add meat. Fry it along with the onion over high heat. The higher the heat, the faster the meat will brown. Our task is to “seal” it, thereby preserving all the juice. In this case, the meat turns out juicy, soft and very tasty.

4. When the meat turns white and is covered with a golden brown crust in some places, add tomato sauce. I use my own homemade sauce. It is made from juicy ripe tomatoes in the fall, when tomatoes gain maximum juiciness and brightness. And in this case, I don’t have to use its store-bought counterparts.

You can only use one tomatoes, in this case take 2 of them. Or take a spoonful of store-bought tomato paste. It is more concentrated than homemade, and you will need less of it and 1 tomato.

5. Fry the tomato for 1-2 minutes. There is no longer any need to fry it, it is already completely ready for use. Then add tomatoes, cut into large slices and fry for another minute.

6. Add boiling water so that the water only slightly covers the contents. Cook until the water has completely evaporated, stirring occasionally. This will take approximately 20 minutes.

In the photo I added a little more water than needed. I had to evaporate it for longer than 20 minutes. The meat should be slightly visible.

7. During this time, cut the potatoes into cubes. You can fill it with cold water to prevent it from darkening.

8. When all the water has evaporated, stir, add bell pepper and stir again. Fry for 1 minute.

9. Add potatoes, drain all the water from them in advance, and add salt immediately. Half a tablespoon will be enough at this stage. Add spices, garlic and red capsicum. Mix everything. Reduce heat to minimum. You can add garlic at another stage, closer to the end (I will later tell you when this needs to be done). Then the dish will have a more pronounced garlic taste. To enhance this taste, you can add not 2, but 3 cloves.

10. Now you need to stir more often. We don't use a lot of oil. And the potatoes will tend to stick to the bottom. And here there are two options: either stir more often, making sure to mix everything from the very bottom. Or add oil. Not everyone likes a lot of butter in a dish, and we are one of them. Therefore, we don’t get distracted and get in the way more often.

11. Fry the potatoes until half cooked. It will take a little longer to prepare than usual. Since the environment in which it is located is acidic, this will increase the time. This will take approximately 20 - 25 minutes.

12. At the end of cooking this stage, add ground black pepper to the potatoes, and don’t forget to mix everything again.

Stage 2 of preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Place potatoes and meat in an even layer on a baking sheet. Pour 2/3 cup of hot boiled water. And put it in the oven. Bake the potatoes until fully cooked and the water has evaporated. Approximately 20 minutes.

3. During this time, we will prepare the filling. To do this, beat the eggs into a bowl. My recipe says that you need 4 eggs. and in photo 5. I’ll explain why. I try to buy category 2 eggs in the store, they are smaller. One knowledgeable person advised me to use such eggs. He said they were eggs from first-year hens. They have not yet been overfed with all sorts of unnecessary additives, and their eggs are healthier than large ones. But since such eggs are much smaller in size, I took 5 of them.

4. Add salt, about half a teaspoon, a pinch of pepper. Beat everything with a fork.

5. Add milk and melted butter, and stir until smooth.

6. According to the recipe, at this stage more flour is added to make it easier to put the moussaka on a plate. With flour it is well cut and laid out in the form of a square or rectangle. I don't add flour. We cook for ourselves, so if somewhere it doesn’t turn out so smoothly, it doesn’t matter. I don't want to overload the dish with flour.

Stage 3 of preparation:

1. When the potatoes are completely ready, take out the baking sheet. If you haven't added the garlic, add it now. Then you need to evenly fill all the contents with the prepared filling.

2. Then put it back in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Cut the finished moussaka into portioned squares or rectangles. Place on a plate. Serve with herbs, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.