Eggplant Casserole

Arabbic - musaqqaʿa 

Greek - μουσακάς

South Slavic - мусака

Turkish - musakka

English - moussaka

A peasant dish made posh by Nicholas Tselementes in the early 1900s.

I have been meaning to try it and decided to do so this spring when the eggplants came to season. The greek version, with the bechamel sauce, was decided in the end. Filling our home with the aromatic smell of Greece (I think)!

Choosing the ideal recipe to try was probably the hardest part of making this dish. Probably because my husband helped with making the bechamel sauce! In the end, it was the Australian Masterchef's Masterclass recipe by one of the judge's mother, Mary Calombaris! She was a big hit!

Moussaka
(Serves 8)

3 eggplants, sliced 5mm thick
2-3 tablespoons salt
1/4 cup olive oil
300g lamb mince
100g pork mince
100g veal mince
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon lemon thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
2 cinnamon quills
250g crushed tomatoes
400g tomato passata
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
Olive oil, for frying
4 large potatoes, sliced 5mm thick

Bechamel
100g butter
100g plain flour
600ml full cream milk, warmed
100g keflagraviera cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
Extra keflagraviera cheese, grated

1 Preheat oven to 180C.

2 Lay eggplant over a shallow tray or dish and sprinkle liberally with salt. Cover with muslin or a clean chux and set aside for 30 minutes.

3 Heat oil in a large frying pan or saucepan, add lamb, pork and veal mince and cook until browned and meat breaks up. Add onion and sauté until softened. Add garlic, oregano, lemon thyme, rosemary and cinnamon quills and allow to cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4 Add crushed tomatoes, tomato passata, tomato paste and water, bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1/2 hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5 Pour oil into a frying pan approximately 1cm deep, place over a high heat and shallow fry potatoes for 3-4 minutes on each side or until tender. Drain on paper towel.

6 Pat dry eggplant and pan fry on each side until golden yet still firm. Drain on paper towel.

7 For béchamel, melt butter in a heavy based saucepan. Add flour, stir over a low heat for 2 minutes.

8 Slowly add warm milk, stirring continuously until thick. Add extra milk if sauce is to thick.

9 Whisk in keflagraviera cheese and an egg yolk, season to taste.

10 To assemble, oil casserole dish and layer as follows. Meat sauce, potato, sauce, potato, sauce, eggplant, sauce, potato, eggplant and remaining sauce. Cover with béchamel and grate extra cheese over.

11 Bake for 45 minutes until browned and béchamel has set. Serve.

The journey to Greece - 2 hours. The taste - wonderful! 

*Note: With some local substitution of just local beef mince, keflagraviera for tasty cheese and parmesan, and foregoing tomato passata!