Lazy Housewife's Moussaka
Adapted recipe
Ingredients
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500 grams/1 pound minced beef or lamb
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2 large eggplants/aubergines
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2 large zucchinis/courgette
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1 large onion or 2 small onions
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3 large potatoes
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Beef stock
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400g can of tomato puree/tomatoes chopped
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Salt and pepper to taste
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Olive oil for frying
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1 tablespoon of olive oil
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125ml red wine
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2/3 cup cheese, grated
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3/4 cup of milk or water
Preparation
Step 1 - First, preheat the oven to 220c/428F and line two trays with baking parchment. Slice the eggplant and zucchini lengthwise into half inch slices. Drizzle some oil onto the vegetables and bake for 30 minutes turning halfway through and adding more oil if you need it.
Step 2 - Heat a frypan on medium to high heat and slice the potatoes about a half inch thick again (I left the skin on) and fry these in some oil and put aside. They don't have to be fully cooked through but golden and cooked on the sides is good.
Step 3 - Chop your onion/s and then put a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and once hot add the chopped onion and cook until translucent and then add the mince making sure that it is broke up. Once it has a nice colour just add your tomato puree/tin of chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste as well as a half glass of red wine and a tablespoon of olive oil. Then you just cook until it becomes a thick sauce.
Step 4 - In a large cooking pot you start to assemble your moussaka. Your first layer will be potatoes then mince then half of the cheese, beef sauce then potatoes then your courgette/zucchini, then more minced beef, then aubergines/eggplant and so on until you have a final layer of eggplant and then add the rest of the cheese until you are ¾ up your cooking pot. You then just put the pot on the hob, add the milk or water and on a low heat you cook it lid off for approximately 20-25 minutes or when liquid has evaporated.
Note from Dimitri: "Giagia used to say that the really lazy housewives just did potatoes and mince and forgot all about the aubergines and courgette. She used to say that she always tried not to be that lazy but hey people do slip some times and she would wink."
Béchamel only if you want it for this recipe the idea is that you do not add the béchamel you are supposed to cook without béchamel. Should you choose to do béchamel then you will need to cook your béchamel sauce as below then add to moussaka and put in a 190c/390F oven for 15 minutes to thicken and give it some colour
Ingredients
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300 ml milk
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2 tablespoons of butter
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2 tablespoons of flour or corn flour (giagia preferred cornflour her mum obviously used flour)
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Salt and pepper to taste
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55 grams Kefalo Graviera cheese (Greek salty cheese) or parmesan cheese instead
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2 eggs
Preparation
To make béchamel sauce you add milk butter and flour or cornflour salt and pepper (note because the cheese is salty you will need to use less salt) and cook on a low heat. Once this starts to thicken then you take it off the hob and you should have your eggs lightly beaten add slowly into your pot of hot thick sauce but slowly so the egg will not scramble then add your cheese and slowly simmer till you have a thick sauce.
Then you will need to add to your moussaka and put in oven for 15 minutes to thicken and give it some colour
I hope that you enjoy the recipes and that you get the same full flavours that my grandmother always had in her meals.