Greek Moussaka

Ingredients

• 6 medium eggplants
• Salt
• 6 medium zucchinis
• 4 Potatoes
• 500 g tomatoes
• 8 tbsp olive oil
• 500 g ground beef
• 3 onions
• 1 Garlic clove
• 80 g Parmesan
• 130 g Emmental cheese
• 150 g whole‑grain breadcrumbs
• white pepper
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 80 g Butter
• 60 g wheat flour type 1050
• 1 l meat broth

Instructions

1. 1.

   Clean, wash and slice eggplants into 1 cm thick rounds, then layer them alternately with salt in a bowl. Clean, wash zucchinis and slice into 1 cm thick rounds; layer in another bowl and lightly salt each layer.

2. 2.

   Peel, wash potatoes and shave into thin slices on a mandoline. Wrap in a damp cloth. Rinse tomatoes under hot water, peel and cut off stems. Quarter the tomatoes. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan and fry the squeezed eggplant slices for 5 minutes, ensuring they do not overlap. Remove and set aside.

3. 3.

   Heat another 2 tbsp olive oil in the pan and fry the squeezed zucchini slices for 5 minutes; set aside. Heat 2 more tablespoons of oil and fry the well‑dried, salted potatoes for 5 minutes; remove and set aside.

4. 4.

   For the meat mixture, put ground beef into a bowl. Peel and chop one onion. Peel garlic and crush with salt. Grate both cheeses. Add diced onion, 100 g breadcrumbs, the garlic clove, 50 g of each cheese and white pepper to the beef; mix thoroughly into a firm dough. Then peel and dice remaining onions, add them to the pan with remaining oil, fry for 5 minutes, then cook the meat mixture in the pan for another 5 minutes while stirring. Add tomato quarters and season heavily with pepper.

5. 5.

   If needed, grease a baking dish and mix herbs in a small bowl. Layer alternately: eggplant slices, meat dough, zucchini, meat dough, potatoes and meat dough. Sprinkle herb mixture between layers.

6. 6.

   Heat 60 g butter in a large pot, stir in flour and pour in hot broth. Cook for 15 minutes while stirring. Then add 30 g parmesan and 30 g Emmental, mix in. Finally season everything with salt and pepper and pour over the casserole.

7. 7.

   For topping, mix remaining breadcrumbs and cheese in a bowl, spread over the sauce, top with butter shards, cover the dish with foil. Bake in preheated oven at 180 °C (convection 160 °C) for 40 minutes. Remove foil during last 10 minutes and brown at 220 °C (convection 200 °C).

8. 8.

   Turn off oven and let Moussaka rest for 10 more minutes, then remove and divide into 12 portions.