Meatballs and Muffins

Moussaka has always been a favourite Greek dish of mine, not only because it tastes so amazing, but because it reminds me of where I came from.

For me, it’s a quintessentially Greek dish that, when I bake it, it fills my senses with the flavours and aromas of my mother’s kitchen. It’s one of those dishes that conjures up so many wonderful memories from my childhood.In the original recipe, the potato and eggplant slices are fried in hot oil, which takes a lot of time and effort, and can end up making the dish quite oily. Instead of frying, I arrange the sliced vegetables on a oven tray, brush them with a little extra virgin olive oil and bake them in a hot oven, which gives me the same result without the effort or oiliness.

The other change I have made to the recipe is to swap the normal flour in the white sauce with gluten free flour. I originally did this because of a celiac problem in my family, but found the Moussaka was much lighter made this way and my family all prefer it, so now I always make it GF.

While these two small changes have made this great dish lighter and healthier, it still has the traditional delicious taste you expect in a Greek Moussaka.  Serves 8

What you need

• Baking dish – approximately 30cm x 23c
• 2 medium eggplants (aubergines)
• 6 medium potatoes – I prefer Dutch Creams or Desiree
• ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion – finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove – finely chopped
• 1kg minced lean beef
• ½ cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 400g tinned tomatoes – chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons continental parsley – washed and finely chopped
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the white sauce (béchamel)

• 60g butter
• 6 tablespoons plain flour (I use gluten-free)
• 3 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg – preferably freshly ground
• 100g Kefalotiri (Greek cheese) or a tasty cheese – grated
• 1 egg and 1 egg yolk

What to do

Heat oven to 200°C.

Slice the eggplants lengthways in 1cm thick slices.

Place in a colander and sprinkle with a little salt. Leave for 30 minutes to sweat, then pat dry with kitchen paper.

In then meantime, peel the potatoes and slice into 1cm thick slices.

Arrange in a single layer on an oven tray lined with baking paper.

Brush with half of the oil and sprinkle with a little salt.

Place in the oven to bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden – turn halfway through baking.

Carefully lift the potato slices onto a large plate and allow to cool.

Using the same oven tray, arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer and brush with the remaining oil.

Place in the oven to bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden – turn halfway through baking.

Remove and allow to cool.

For the meat sauce

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a pan over a medium heat.

Add onion, garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the minced beef and cook until beef has browned – breaking it up as you go.

Add wine and cook for 5 minutes to cook out the alcohol.

Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, bay leaves, oregano, salt and pepper and ¾ cup water.

Stir through and allow to simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.

Add the chopped parsley and simmer for a further 2 minutes – remove from heat and leave aside.

For the white sauce

Melt the butter in a saucepan on a medium/low heat

Add the flour and and stir to combine.

Stirring continuously, cook for 5 minutes or until the mixture starts to turn light golden.

Slowly pour in the milk and whisk well to remove any flour lumps. Stir until it comes to a boil and thickens.

Remove from heat and add the nutmeg, cheese, salt, and pepper – stir through

Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Add beaten eggs and stir through to combine.

To construct the Moussaka

Arrange the potato slices on the base of the baking dish.

Spread the meat sauce over the top.

Next, arrange the slices of eggplant over the meat sauce.

Spread the white (béchamel) sauce over the top,

Reduce oven to 180°C.

Place the moussaka in the oven to bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until the top turns golden.

Allow to cool slightly before serving with a fresh salad.I hope you and your family enjoy this dish as much as mine do! 🙂

Kali Orexi