Moussaka

Moussaka
The recipe Moussaka could satisfy your Mediterranean craving in roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes. For $3.66 per serving, you get a main course that serves 8. One portion of this dish contains about 40g of protein, 72g of fat, and a total of 944 calories. A mixture of parmesan cheese, basil, salt, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so flavorful. To use up the onions you could follow this main course with the Candy Corn Cupcakes as a dessert.

Instructions

1
In large, heavy saucepan, heat 1/4 cup oil; saute finely ground meat, onion and garlic until lightly browned; add oregano, basil, cinnamon, salt, ripe olives (if using) and tomato sauce; Cover and simmer slowly about 30 minutes; uncover and simmer slowly another 30 minutes.While sauce simmers, prepare Bechamel Sauce (recipe below) and eggplant; cut ends from eggplant (1 large or 2 small) and cut in 1/2-inch-thick slices (if using large, flask-type eggplant, peel the skin off in strips with a vegetable peeler - creating a striped look - with some of the peel left on and some off. If using Japanese-style (the longish, purply-white ones), don't bother to peel at all);
Ingredients you will need
Tomato SauceTomato Sauce
Ground BeefGround Beef
Ripe OlivesRipe Olives
VegetableVegetable
CinnamonCinnamon
EggplantEggplant
OreganoOregano
GarlicGarlic
BasilBasil
OnionOnion
SauceSauce
SaltSalt
Cooking OilCooking Oil
Equipment you will use
PeelerPeeler
Sauce PanSauce Pan
2
Place on a cookie sheet and brush with remaining olive oil;
Ingredients you will need
Olive OilOlive Oil
CookiesCookies
Equipment you will use
Baking SheetBaking Sheet
3
Place under broiler and broil until light brown;
Equipment you will use
BroilerBroiler
1
shallow-fry potato rounds in olive oil until golden-brown or,
Ingredients you will need
Olive OilOlive Oil
PotatoPotato
2
for fewer calories, arrange the potato slices in your baking pan, brush lightly with olive oil, bake for 15 minutes, continue with assembly, or
Ingredients you will need
Olive OilOlive Oil
PotatoPotato
Equipment you will use
Baking PanBaking Pan
OvenOven
3
if you want to cut calories further, parboil them for 8 minutes; drain well on paper towels.To assemble: In 13x9x2-inch baking dish, arrange layer of potatoes, overlapping slightly, season lightly (there will be only one layer of potatoes, so use them all up); next, do a layer of eggplant; sprinkle some Parmesan, kaseri (or cheddar) and bread crumbs over eggplant; layer meat sauce, freshly grated cheeses, crumbs and Bechamel Sauce until all is used; bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees or until flecked golden-brown on top.To make Bechamel Sauce: In saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat; whisk in flour and cook slowly until smooth and lightly cooked (2-3 minutes); add salt and remove from heat; add milk, whisking rapidly and return to heat; cook until thick and bubbly, whisking constantly; allow to cool 5 minutes, whisking once in a while to prevent a skin from forming; incorporate eggs and grated cheese with wire whisk to make fluffy sauce.Freezer Notes: Once the baked moussaka has completely cooked, cut serving-size pieces, double-wrap in foil and freeze. Defrost in the usual manner and reheat in microwave (or oven) for a delicious, quick meal, when there's little time to cook and dinner is ready and waiting in the freezer!
Ingredients you will need
BreadcrumbsBreadcrumbs
EggplantEggplant
ParmesanParmesan
PotatoPotato
CheeseCheese
ButterButter
All Purpose FlourAll Purpose Flour
SauceSauce
EggEgg
MeatMeat
MilkMilk
SaltSalt
WrapWrap
Equipment you will use
Paper TowelsPaper Towels
Baking PanBaking Pan
WhiskWhisk
MicrowaveMicrowave
OvenOven
Sauce PanSauce Pan
Aluminum FoilAluminum Foil
DifficultyExpert
Ready In2 hrs, 20 m.
Servings8
Health Score25
Magazine