Moussaka in Greek, Bulgarian, Armenian, Serbian: the best recipes. How to cook moussaka with minced meat and eggplant, vegetables, potatoes, zucchini, rice, cabbage, vegetarian at home: recipe

18.01.2022

Moussaka is a dish similar to borscht. There are also endless disputes about it - what ingredients, in what order, eggplant processing technology, which cuisine belongs to ... I still tend to Greek cuisine. Otherwise, where would this recipe come from in my family of crests-Russians-Moldovans-Jews? Nothing but the influence of the Azov Greeks;)

So, for my moussaka, the following ingredients were needed:

Ground meat:

4 small eggplants

400 gr. homemade minced meat (300 beef, 100 pork)

2 large sweet onions (I used white/pearl onions)

3 large garlic cloves

3 large fleshy tomatoes

green basil

salt,

freshly ground black pepper

olive oil

Sauce:

500 ml milk

50 gr. butter

50 gr. flour

salt,

freshly ground black pepper

nutmeg

First of all, we send blue ones to the oven, they are eggplants. Many advise pricking so that the skin does not burst. But, since we are taking off this skin, it makes no difference to us whether it bursts or not. the photo just shows one eggplant with a burst skin. During the ripening time in the oven, turn them over a couple of times so that they bake evenly everywhere. Take out and let cool.

While the little blue ones are cooling, we cut the onion - I cut it finely, I don’t like large onions in the dish, caramelize it for 5 minutes over low heat in vegetable oil, add chopped garlic - fry for 2 minutes.

Add minced meat and stir well so that the minced meat becomes grains. Speaking of minced meat, in general, we always make moussaka with lamb, but in difficult times, beef and pork go well. In my opinion, this does not greatly affect the quality of the finished dish. add coarsely chopped tomatoes, chopped greens to the minced meat. I used a mixture of lemongrass basil and clove basil. They give such a strong aroma for a couple that I considered it blasphemous to add anything else. Salt, pepper. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes.

We clean the blue ones, cut into pieces, add to the minced meat. Transfer to a heatproof bowl.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. This is a classic bechamel. We take the butter, melt it in a saucepan, add the flour and actively stir for a couple of minutes so that the flour does not burn and mixes well with the butter. Then add cold milk. Mix vigorously so that there are no lumps. add salt, SSChP and nutmeg on the tip of a knife. Voila, the sauce is ready. If yours is very thick, add milk. And if you like the cheesy taste, add grated parmesan to it.

Pour the prepared minced meat with the sauce.

And put it in the oven for 30 minutes.

Readiness is checked by smell. As soon as it reaches the bedroom, to the husband for a laptop, who immediately comes off his car forums and rushes to the kitchen for his big spoon, then it's ready.

Our family loves a juicy, non-photogenic mash :) And if you like moussaka more, which can be cut and will keep its shape, drain the excess liquid before placing the minced meat in a heat-resistant form. And you will have drier moussaka.

Enjoy your meal.

The famous Greek casserole moussaka won the hearts of not only the Greeks, but also gourmets around the world. In fact, in Greek, the word μουσακάς sounds like musakAs - with the accent on the last syllable - this is a masculine noun. But its transformed form has firmly entered and taken root in the Russian language. The word itself, together with the original version of the dish, is Arabic. This is a salad of fried vegetables with spices. From the Arabs, the salad and the word got into the cuisines of the Balkan and Mediterranean peoples with some changes and additions.

The dish was cold (musaqqa means "chilled" in Arabic) until the Greeks intervened in the early twentieth century. Rather, one Greek is Nicholas Tselementes, whom grateful compatriots remember and honor to this day. Being a professional chef, Nicholas decided to combine an oriental salad with meat, and pour it all over with French Bechamel sauce. And it turned out to be a great casserole!

That is why Greek moussaka compares favorably with its counterparts from other cuisines of the world. Its additional feature is that the products are laid out in layers. The classic moussaka recipe always contains eggplant, finely chopped lamb meat and Bechamel sauce. French sauce hardens and becomes golden brown during baking, which gives the dish an appetizing look. Greek housewives complement the classics with their own special secrets, adding a layer of boiled potatoes, or a layer of fried zucchini, or both layers together.

Moussaka in Greek. Classic recipe

How to cook Greek moussaka

Greek moussaka recipe

Dish Main course

Cuisine Greek

Preparation time 1 hour

Time for preparing 1 hour

Total time 2 hours

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

2 pcs. - Eggplant medium size
1 kg - Minced meat in the original - finely chopped lamb or a mixture of beef with lamb or pork
3 pcs. - Tomatoes medium size (or tomato puree - 200 grams)
1 PC. - Onion medium size
3-4 st. l. - Flour
300 g - Hard cheese
150 g - Butter
600 g - Milk
50 g - Olive oil you can refined sunflower
1 clove - Garlic
100 g - White wine dry (optional)
to taste - Salt
to taste - black pepper
to taste - Marjoram
to taste - Nutmeg

Instructions

moussaka casserole

Wash the eggplant, cut off the stalks and cut into slices with a sharp knife, about one centimeter thick. Lay them out on a board, salt and let stand until they are covered with moisture - about twenty to thirty minutes. This procedure is necessary so that bitterness comes out of them. While the eggplants are standing, you can put the oven on to heat up to 200 degrees and do the meat filling.

Peel and finely chop the onion. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan (you can take sunflower oil) and add onion there. When it is browned, put the minced meat in a pan and fry a little. If instead of minced meat you use low-fat, finely chopped lamb with a knife, then you can get as close as possible to the original. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and remove the skin from them. Then rub them on a coarse grater (or take ready-made tomato puree) and add to the minced meat with onions. Sometimes the Greeks add some dry white wine, but this is not necessary. Simmer over low heat.

While the meat filling is being prepared, and the eggplants are getting rid of bitterness, you need to prepare the grated cheese. It is useful for bechamel sauce and for the dish itself. The Greeks use hard and salty cheese for moussaka - kefalotiri, but you can take any hard cheese like parmesan. Rub it on a coarse grater and divide into three equal parts. The first part will go into the sauce, the second - after the eggplant layer, and the third will come in handy in order to sprinkle the dish on top.

When the minced meat is almost ready, you can add chopped garlic and spices. Nutmeg is added quite a bit, at the tip of a knife, and marjoram - about a quarter of a teaspoon. Salt, pepper lightly and simmer, stirring occasionally until the liquid is completely boiled away.

Remove moisture from the eggplant with a paper towel. You can lightly grease them on both sides with olive oil with a cooking brush. Then carefully place on a wire rack and put in the oven for 3-5 minutes. You can put eggplants on a baking sheet, having previously laid baking paper, but then bake for no more than 3 minutes, and then turn them over and bake for another 2-3 minutes until lightly blushed. You can fry eggplants in a pan, but then you must definitely blot the excess oil with a paper towel. This process will take a little longer.

Grease a deep baking dish with oil (both olive and cream can be used). If the form is without a non-stick coating, then it is better to sprinkle it with breadcrumbs so that the casserole does not burn or stick. Gently lay out the eggplants as the first layer so that the bottom is not visible and sprinkle with grated cheese. Then lay out the meat filling as a second layer and align. Pour the bechamel sauce over the third layer. Spread it evenly over the entire surface and sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese on top. Send to the oven and bake at 180 degrees for 45 minutes.

When done, remove from oven and let cool for 20 minutes. In order for moussaka to be served hot, it takes time for the sauce to thicken a little - otherwise it cannot be cut neatly.

The number of layers can be increased by adding a layer of boiled potatoes, cut into circles and / or fried zucchini, cut in the same way as eggplant. Sometimes zucchini is used instead of eggplant. It is advisable to sprinkle each new layer with grated cheese.

Notes

Moussaka is served both hot and cold as an independent dish. The white Greek wine Retsina is perfect for it.

Enjoy your meal! Καλή σας όρεξη!

Moussaka- one of the most popular Greek dishes. And this popularity is not accidental. It is the most famous dish of Greece, a kind of visiting card. Anyone who has ever visited Greece, certainly tried this delicious dish. And I am sure that I have become a fan of this dish forever.

Moussaka is a type of vegetable casserole with meat, common in the Mediterranean and Balkan countries. This dish is prepared differently everywhere, but in any case, it always turns out delicious. It is not difficult to prepare it at all, all products for its preparation are always sold in the store. Therefore, learning how to cook such a dish is simply necessary. After all, sometimes you want to please your loved ones with a delicious unusual dish.

History has not preserved to us information about who and when invented this dish. For the first time, a description of a dish similar to it appeared in the 13th century, and it was called "maguma", a dish of Arabic origin. Now in Arab countries, moussaka is called a cold salad, which is made from tomatoes and eggplant.

In all other countries, it is a hot dish. There are different options for its preparation, even in Greece, each housewife prepares it in her own way. Just like our hostesses do not have a single recipe for borscht. How much you eat borscht in every house, you will not find the same.

How I Learned to Make Moussaka. For as long as I can remember, we have always cooked this dish at home.

My mother comes from Kazakhstan, from a small town where for some reason a lot of Greeks lived. My father is from Uzbekistan, and he is half Greek himself. Greeks also lived there, and my grandmother was married to a Greek.

So we had the opportunity to join the Greek cuisine. My father was very fond of this delicious dish, and often asked me to cook it. I always did it with pleasure, because I myself am a big fan of hers.

Fortunately, we lived in Uzbekistan, and there were no problems with good ripe vegetables. And for its preparation, only the ripest vegetables are needed. This dish has always turned out great.

Someday later, I will share with you a recipe for making Bulgarian moussaka. And today we will cook moussaka in Greek and vegetarian moussaka.

Moussaka in Greek - a classic recipe

We will need the following products:

beef + lamb 700 gr.
eggplant - 1 kg.
potatoes - 4-5 pcs.
tomatoes -3-4 pcs.
bow -2 pcs.
garlic 3-4 cloves
hard cheese - 250 gr. (original parmesan)
olive oil
dry white wine - 0.5 tbsp.
breadcrumbs
parsley
spices - basil, rosemary, dried ginger, nutmeg, paprika
red capsicum
salt, ground black pepper

For the bechamel sauce

milk - 1 liter
butter - 100-120 gr. butter
flour -3/4 cup
nutmeg
salt - 0.5 tsp

Cooking:

Cut eggplants into long plates 1 cm thick, sprinkle them generously with salt. Mix gently and leave for 30 minutes.
Prepare mixed minced beef and lamb.
Onion cut into small cubes. Fry it in a small amount of oil until golden brown, add minced meat. Fry well, stirring constantly.
Add garlic and pour in wine. Stirring occasionally, wait for the wine to evaporate.
In the meantime, pour boiling water over the tomatoes and remove the skin from them. Then grind and add to minced meat.
Simmer over low heat, then add spices and a piece of red capsicum. Don't forget to salt and pepper.
You can add a little hot water to make the stuffing better stewed.
Simmer the minced meat until it becomes homogeneous, without lumps. Then add chopped parsley, mix and close the lid.
Wash eggplants in cold water. Place them in a colander to drain excess liquid. Then lay out on paper towels.
Peel potatoes, cut into 0.5 cm thick plates. Put on a baking sheet on greased baking paper.
Preheat oven, bake potatoes for 10-15 minutes.
During this time, fry the eggplant in batches in oil in a frying pan. If you like dishes with less oil, then eggplant can also be baked in the oven.
If you fry eggplants, put them on a wire rack after frying to drain excess oil.

Preparing Bechamel Sauce:

Melt the butter in a saucepan, gradually add the flour, stirring constantly. Lightly fry, make sure that it does not burn.
Gradually pour in hot milk, stirring constantly (use a whisk).
Add a pinch of nutmeg, it gives a nice nutty flavor to the whole dish.
Simmer the sauce over low heat until it thickens. At the same time, do not forget to stir constantly. Then remove from fire.
We begin to collect moussaka into shape. It is better to use a glass form with large sides.
Lubricate the form with oil, sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Spread potatoes, sprinkle with grated cheese.
Then a layer of eggplant, and also sprinkle with cheese.
Now it's the turn of minced meat, lay it out and distribute it evenly.
Spread bechamel sauce on top and sprinkle with grated cheese.
We heat the oven to a temperature of 180 degrees.
We cover the form with foil, cover the edges tightly. And put the mold in the oven.
Bake for 40 minutes, then remove the foil.
Bake for another 15 minutes, during which time the moussaka will be covered on top with a beautiful, ruddy, fragrant crust.
Remove from oven, cover with a towel and leave to rest for 10-15 minutes.

Here is our delicious moussaka in Greek and ready. Spread on plates in portions, be sure to include all the layers in the portion. And try to taste this wonderfully delicious dish!

The nuances of making moussaka:

For moussaka, it is very important which vegetables you use. Vegetables give her the main taste, and for this they must be ripe. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to make this dish in our area, as in Greece, especially in winter. From greenhouse vegetables, it will not turn out so tasty.
Therefore, I do not buy tomatoes in the winter, but use my own, cooked tomato paste. See the link for how to do this.
Some housewives do not put potatoes in moussaka, and make it only from eggplant and minced meat. Yes, you can do this, but in winter I always add potatoes. Eggplants are expensive in winter, and not so tasty, but our potatoes are just what we need!
When fried, eggplants take a lot of oil, so pour a little oil. Top up slowly as needed. And then be sure to let the oil drain.
A good addition to moussaka is tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes. This sauce is prepared in a matter of minutes: you just need to chop the peeled tomatoes in a blender with salt, add chopped garlic, herbs and half a teaspoon of lemon juice.

Preparing Vegetarian Moussaka:

My son is a vegetarian He stopped eating meat when he was 18 years old. We convinced him - we convinced him that meat should still be consumed. That a growing male body needs protein, and so on. But we failed to convince him. For the past 5 years he has not eaten any meat or fish at all.
Since at home I always cook a lot and tasty, I cannot leave my beloved child without delicious food. During this time, I have already learned how to cook almost all the dishes that we cook for ourselves and for him, but without meat.
Moussaka is just a very good case when the dish is equally tasty both with meat and without meat.
Vegetarian moussaka should be prepared in the same way as meat moussaka. We skip the step of adding minced meat.
And at the moment when the tomatoes are fried, I add the Bulgarian pepper, cut into slices.
Everything else is unchanged. Try it, it's very tasty!

Enjoy your meal!

Bulgarian moussaka recipe with meat and potatoes

We will need:

meat -400-500 gr
potatoes - 1 kg
onion - 2 pcs. large
Bulgarian pepper - 2 pcs.
tomato sauce - 5 tbsp. spoons
tomato - 1 pc. (large)
garlic - 2 - 3 cloves
spices for meat
salt, ground black pepper to taste
red capsicum
vegetable oil - 4-5 tbsp. spoons (80-100 gr)

For filling:

egg -4 pcs.
milk - 1 cup
butter - 50 gr (2 tablespoons)
flour - 2 tbsp. spoons (optional)
salt - 0.5 tsp
ground black pepper - a pinch

Training:

Meat - wash beef or veal, dry with a paper towel and cut into pieces with a side of about 2-2.5 cm. There is no need to cut it smaller, all the juice will flow out of the meat and it will turn out tough. I used a piece of beef shoulder. I love this part, it cooks quickly and always comes out soft and juicy.
Onion cut into half rings thinner. I use large onions, just cut them as thin as possible. During cooking, all the onion will evaporate and it will not be visible at all in the finished dish. And of course, it will not be felt either.
Cut the bell pepper into cubes with a side of a little more than 1 cm.
4. Peel the potatoes and temporarily cover with water. Subsequently, before laying in the dish, there will be time to cut it. We will cut the same cubes with a side of about 1 cm.
Pour boiling water over the tomato and hold in it for 1 minute. I have a large tomato, so I cut it into two halves. Drain water, let cool slightly. Then remove the skin. It comes off easily and easily. Then cut the tomatoes into fairly large slices.
Crush the garlic on the board with the flat side of the knife, remove the peel, and cut into smaller pieces in random order. During cooking, it will also all evaporate, sharing its flavor with the whole dish. Garlic I have a fresh crop, with a good smell.
Let's prepare the spices. I use spice mix. Firstly, ziru (cumin), I really love this delicious-smelling spice. I cook a pinch of it. The second pinch I have is a mixture of spices. I make it in advance, and I have it universal for many dishes. Convenient, once mixed, and then use. This mixture includes such universal spice components as ground coriander and rosemary, paprika, a little turmeric, cardamom, thyme, oregano, a mixture of herbs - parsley, dill, basil.
We also prepare salt and pepper in advance. Initially, I use half a tablespoon of salt, pepper - to taste. Then salt and pepper and also filling. And be sure to cook a piece of red hot pepper. How would Balkan cuisine be without it? It needs to be added at least a little. I have a rather hot pepper, and so I cut off a 1 cm thick piece with a knife.
Cooking dishes with a thick bottom. You can use a large non-stick frying pan with high sides, or a cauldron. In such dishes, the entire dish is heated evenly and nothing will burn.
We will also need a baking sheet, in the second stage of cooking we will cook in it.
We boil a kettle of water, we need boiling water.
We take out the butter in advance and leave it at room temperature so that it melts.

And so, when we have everything ready, you can start cooking without being distracted. But I confess to you honestly, I never single out the preparation in advance, and the cooking process itself. Mine, clean, cut everything in the "process". This recipe is familiar to me, so I already know that I will have time for everything. But if you are cooking the recipe for the first time, do all the preparation beforehand and when you cook, focus only on the process itself.

Moussaka with bell pepper

Let's prepare another version of moussaka, this time adding bell pepper to the recipe.

We need products:

Potatoes - 6 pcs. medium size
Eggplant - 2 pcs. large size
Ground beef - 300 g
Tomatoes - 2 pcs.
Bulb onion - 1 onion
Bulgarian pepper - 1 pc.
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp. spoons
Hard cheese - 200 g
Dried oregano (optional) - 1 teaspoon
Mint dried or fresh (optional) - 1 tsp. spoon or small twig
Greens - to taste
Olive oil - 100 ml
Salt, ground black pepper - to taste

For sauce:

Flour - 2 tbsp. spoons
Butter - 50 g
Milk - 2 cups
Eggs - 2 pcs.

We prepare moussaka as follows:

We clean the potatoes, cut them into thin slices, fry in olive oil, be sure to salt. Then spread on the bottom of a deep form or pan.
Also fry the chopped onions. Finely chop the bell pepper and put in the fry along with the onion, fry for a few minutes. Add minced meat and diced tomatoes.
All this is fried for 5 minutes. Mint and oregano can be added if desired. Salt and add pepper. Then add tomato paste and simmer for another 20 minutes under a lid over low heat. 1-2 minutes before the end of the stew, add finely chopped greens.
Moussaka mince is ready. Lay it on top of the potato slices.
Now let's prepare the eggplant. We cut them into rings about 5 mm thick. Salt and put in a bowl for 15 minutes to glass bitterness. Then rinse lightly and squeeze out excess water. After that, fry the eggplants on both sides in a small amount of olive oil, before baking they should be soft, almost ready.
Lay the eggplant on top of the minced meat.
Preparing bechamel sauce for moussaka. Lightly fry the flour in butter (do not fry until dark). Add in parts, stirring constantly, milk. So cook until thickened.
After that, remove from heat, cool for a few minutes and break the eggs into the sauce. Salt and mix well.
Pour the moussaka prepared for baking with the sauce. Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
Put in the oven and bake for 1 hour at 180 degrees.

Moussaka vegetarian

Among the adherents of vegetarianism, you can also meet many gourmets. And they will surely appreciate this moussaka recipe, in which potatoes are cooked in layers with onions, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes and garlic. The dish is very tasty and fragrant.

Ingredients:

5 potatoes;
2 medium onions;
1 large carrot;
1 large bell pepper;
2 medium eggplants;
4 tomatoes;
2 cloves of garlic;
olive oil;
salt and pepper to taste;
dry mediterranean herbs;
optional bay leaf with allspice.

Cooking method:

We cut the eggplants into circles and, sprinkling abundantly with salt, let them stand so that the juice drains from them, which then needs to be washed off with cold water.
We clean the potatoes, cut them into the same circles as eggplants, and spread them in an even layer in a heavy-bottomed pan greased with olive oil. Salt, pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
Cut the onion into thin rings, spread it in an even layer on the potatoes, salt and pepper.
We clean the carrots and cut them into circles, put them on the onion and also salt and pepper, sprinkle with olive oil.
We clean the Bulgarian pepper and cut into rings, salt and pepper, sprinkle with olive oil.
Finely chop the greens, chop the garlic.
Next, laying out the eggplants, salt and pepper them, sprinkle with oil. And finally, the last layer lay out the tomatoes, cut into thin circles. Pour 100 ml of water into the pan and put it on a slow fire. When about 5 minutes remain until the end of cooking, add greens with garlic.

MUSAKA IN GREEK IN THE MULTICOOKER - VERY SIMPLE

Moussaka is being prepared in Greek in a slow cooker from the following ingredients:

0.5 kg of minced meat;
2 zucchini;
2 eggplants;
2 tomatoes;
a bunch of greens;
flour - 2 tbsp. l.;
a spoonful of butter;
a glass of milk;
olive oil - 3-5 tbsp. l;
set of favorite spices.

Cooking:

Eggplants and zucchini are washed and dried with a napkin.
Eggplants are cut into strips, zucchini into cubes, greens are chopped. Minced meat mixed with spices and salt is fried in the "Frying" mode, 5-7 minutes before the end of the process, mashed potatoes made from tomatoes are added. Zucchini is separately fried in the same mode.
Eggplants are cooked in the “Baking” mode (20 minutes) and also set aside separately, the only thing that is common between these processes is that vegetable oil is used for all ingredients, which initially needs to be divided into three parts.
The Greek dish moussaka in most cases involves the use of an oil-based sauce. It is melted, poured with milk, salt and spices are added and, while stirring, flour is poured. Cook the sauce until it thickens normally.
It remains to form the dish and bring it to readiness: the ingredients are laid in layers on the bottom of the bowl in the order listed. Eggplant, minced meat, zucchini, greens and everything is poured with sauce on top.
Greek moussaka with sauce is baked in the “Baking” mode for an hour, after which the dish can be presented to slightly cooled guests.