Greek Moussaka

Ingredients

• 500 g starchy potatoes
• Salt
• 2 Eggplants
• 2 Tomatoes
• 80 ml olive oil
• 2 onions
• 800 g diced canned tomatoes
• 500 g ground meat (beef or lamb)
• 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 125 ml dry white wine
• pepper (ground)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• a pinch of cinnamon
• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp flour
• 800 ml milk
• freshly grated nutmeg
• fat for greasing the pan
• 2 Eggs
• 100 g grated Parmesan

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash the potatoes and boil in salted water for 20-25 minutes. Drain, let steam, peel, then slice.

2. 2.

   Wash eggplants and cut lengthwise into ~1 cm thick slices. Salt and soak in water for about 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Wash tomatoes, remove stems, and slice into 1 cm thick pieces. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick pan, add eggplant slices with extra oil over high heat, browning all sides. Drain on paper towels.

3. 3.

   Peel and dice onions. In a pot, sauté in 2 tbsp oil. Add ground meat, breaking up as it cooks. Then add tomato paste, canned tomatoes, wine, and season with salt, pepper, sugar, oregano, and cinnamon. Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes.

4. 4.

   Melt butter in another pot, stir in flour, cook briefly. Gradually whisk in milk while stirring constantly. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; simmer gently until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.

5. 5.

   Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) fan or conventional. Grease a baking dish and layer potato slices. Spread ground meat over them, then arrange eggplant and tomato slices on top. Beat eggs and mix with about three-quarters of the cheese; stir into béchamel sauce. Pour sauce over the layers and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake in preheated oven for ~45 minutes until golden brown.

6. 6.

   Serve on plates, optionally accompanied by a Greek salad.