Moussaka
Layered eggplant and spiced lamb bake, topped with creamy bechamel.
Meat
⚠ Contains: Gluten, Dairy, Egg. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
How this varies: The name and base concept — layered eggplant, onion, and meat — trace back to the Arabic musaqqa'a, documented in a 13th-century Baghdad cookbook and shared across the Ottoman world; the bechamel-topped version served today was a distinctly Greek reinvention by chef Nikolaos Tselementes in the 1920s.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants, sliced
- 2 large potatoes, thinly sliced
- 500g ground lamb or beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 400g canned tomatoes
- 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp oregano
- 4 tbsp butter, 4 tbsp flour, 2 cups milk (bechamel)
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan or kefalotyri
- 1 egg (for bechamel)
- Olive oil, salt, pepper
Steps
- Salt eggplant slices, let sit 20 minutes to draw out moisture, pat dry. Brush eggplant and potato slices with oil and roast at 200C (400F) until golden, about 20 minutes.
- Saute onion and garlic, add lamb, brown well.
- Add tomatoes, cinnamon, and oregano, simmer 20 minutes until thick.
- Make bechamel: melt butter, whisk in flour, cook 1 minute, gradually whisk in milk until thick and smooth. Off heat, whisk in egg and half the cheese.
- Layer potato, then eggplant, then meat sauce in a baking dish, repeating, finishing with a layer of eggplant.
- Pour bechamel over the top, sprinkle remaining cheese.
- Bake at 180C (350F) for 35-40 minutes until golden and bubbling. Rest 15 minutes before slicing.