Moussaka
Preppy Kitchen · ♥ 5.7K likes · 200.5K views · 16 min video
Read about ground beef in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 3 whole eggplants
Peel the eggplants and cut them lengthwise into half inch slices.
- salt
Lay them on two baking sheets lined with paper towels, salt lightly on both sides, and leave 15 minutes a side, 30 minutes in all.
Salting the eggplant
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high until it shimmers.
- ¼ cup water
Cook the onion about five minutes, stirring, until soft and lightly coloured; add a splash of water to deglaze and cool the pan if it starts to singe.
- 1 lb ground beef
Add the ground beef, break it into small pieces and brown about six minutes, draining off any pooled fat.
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Add the oregano, sugar, cinnamon, salt, black pepper and bay leaf.
- 15 oz tomato sauce
Add the tomato sauce, bring to a simmer, reduce to medium low and cook about 25 minutes until reduced.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Pat the eggplant dry and cook in batches in a large skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil, two minutes a side, adding another tablespoon of oil per batch.
Pan-browning the eggplant
- ½ cup butter
- 4 cups whole milk
Melt the butter in a large pan for the bechamel, with the four cups of whole milk warmed and ready.
Pour in the milk gradually, whisking constantly to break up clumps, and cook about seven minutes until smooth and thick enough to coat a wooden spoon.
- 1 cup shredded parm
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 0.125 tsp ground white pepper
Stir in the shredded parm, the salt, the nutmeg and the white pepper, off the heat if the stove runs hot so it does not split.
Let the sauce sit five minutes, then whisk in the three egg yolks.
- 3 whole egg yolks
Variation: make the bechamel, filling and eggplant up to two days ahead and refrigerate, or assemble and chill unbaked.
- olive oil
Grease the baking dish with a little olive oil and lay half the eggplant slices over the bottom, overlapping slightly.
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
Sprinkle a quarter cup of panko over the eggplant, then spread half the filling over it.
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
Add the remaining eggplant, another quarter cup of panko, and the remaining filling.
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
Bake at 350F for about 50 minutes, until golden and bubbling; broil two to three minutes at the end for a golden top if wanted.