Rich Moussaka Greek-Italian, recipe

11 hours ago
6 min read

##Deliciously Rich Greek-Italian Moussaka Recipe

Rich Moussaka Greek-Italian, recipe

## A Flavorful Twist on Traditional Greek Moussaka: Enhanced with Vegetables and Béchamel Sauce

Moussaka is a traditional Greek dish renowned for its versatility in preparation methods. This flavorful dish typically consists of layers of potatoes and minced meat, complemented by a topping that often includes sour cream, eggs, milk, and salt. Alternatively, it can be finished with béchamel sauce, depending on personal preference. In this particular recipe, I have introduced a variation that incorporates more vegetables, aligning with my taste preferences. The aroma of moussaka is both delightful and enticing, and I find this version superior to those offered by many restaurants.

In this recipe Rich Greek-Italian moussaka, I have included eggplant and zucchini, and opted for a béchamel sauce topping. While the preparation is straightforward, it requires careful attention and time, especially during the vegetable preparation process, which must be executed step by step. I hope the Greeks will appreciate these modifications, as everyone is entitled to adapt recipes to their liking. This moussaka is ideal for Sunday lunch, really wonderful and juicy, rich in all flavors, I believe you will make it more than once! Before beginning, please review the NOTE at the end of the section. Enjoy following this exceptional, delicious recipe!

Rich-Moussaka-Greek-Italian-recipe — **Rich Moussaka Greek-Italian recipe**

Ingredients: simple, total time: 90 minutes, 6 serving

1 big eggplant/ cut into thin rings
3 medium zucchini/ cut into thin rings
11–12 medium potatoes/ up to 6-7 cm in size-cut into thin rings

Filling:

Olive oil EVO to taste
1 onion/ finely chopped
600 g beef minced meat
3 cloves of garlic/ minced
2 medium tomatoes/ peeled and chopped
1. 5 Tbsp tomato concentrate
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano filling
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste

For Sprinkle:

100 g grated Parmesan/ or any hard cheese (melted)
oregano to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Baking dish 38 × 23 cm

Topping:

800 ml milk
80 g butter
70 g flour
1 tsp salt/ or to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper/ or to taste
1 tsp oregano
pinch of nutmeg/ optional

Preparation:

Preparation of Vegetables:

Wash the vegetables well with warm water. Peel the potatoes, wash them again and cut them into thin slices 3-4 mm, you can cut them lengthwise or usually into circles as you like. Cook them in salted water 7 minutes.
Peel and cut the zucchini and eggplant into circles; all vegetables should be the same thickness.
Add salt to the eggplant and zucchini, let it rest for 20 minutes. After that, dry with a kitchen towel.
(In this my recipe, I left the skin on eggplant, because I never throw it away, then fried it in oil for about 40 seconds each side on moderate heat, but you don't have to do that, you can skip this step, but then remove the skin, and put it on a plate and add salt to let the excess liquid come out.)
Wash the tomatoes and mark a cross with a knife, pour hot water over them — wait for 2 minutes, then immediately pour cold water and peel off the skin.
Chop the onion and garlic finely.
Grate Parmesan cheese. Set aside all.
Fry the eggplant in a little oil about 40 seconds each side to moderate heat, until slightly browned, then place on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Set aside.

Preparation Filling:

Fry the onion in heated oil to low to moderate heat in a frying pan until soft and golden brown.
Add the minced meat — stew, covered and stirring occasionally, about 15–17 minutes.
When the meat has acquired color and the liquid has evaporated add the chopped tomatoes, concentrate, minced garlic, stir everything well and cover.
Season with salt, black pepper to taste, add thyme or oregano. Leave covered to stew for about 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The filling is ready when the tomatoes have uniform with all the ingredients and made a nice sauce. Set aside for cooling.
Now prepare Béchamel sauce.

Béchamel Sauce:

For the béchamel sauce, heat a small saucepan, melt the butter in it, add the flour and stir with wire. The mixture should become light brown and without lumps.
Reduce heat, pour in the milk in a thin stream, stir quickly at the same time, season to taste - stir constantly until the sauce thickens.
The crème béchamel must be a little liquid, then a cooking cream. Turn off the heat.

Layering Moussaka:

Oil the baking dish with the help of a brush. Then spread with 1 spoon of béchamel sauce.
Arrange the first row of potatoes next to each other, so fill in the gaps between the lines. Season with salt and pepper, as you like, you can add oregano or thyme to taste.
Then spread 3–4 spoonfuls of the filling evenly, add 2 spoons of béchamel sauce in a zigzag then sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese to taste.
Now arrange the first eggplant, cover with zucchini in the next row, pour béchamel sauce — sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
On top of that, repeat the filling and béchamel with Parmesan.
Last row of potatoes, season to taste, pour the rest of the béchamel over the entire surface and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. (I also added a very little filling that was left in the pan over the potatoes, then I poured béchamel, as a little oregano and a lot of Parmesan cheese.)
Place it in the oven, preheated to 190 °C, bake 35–40 minutes. After the specified time, cover the dish with aluminum foil and return to baking for another 10–15 minutes.
Cool the finished moussaka for 10 minutes, then cut into portions.
You can also serve this moussaka with sour milk if you like.

Buon appetito!

NOTE:

Everyone has their own way of preparing moussaka, I enriched this dish with more vegetables and fewer potatoes.
You can prepare the zucchini, eggplant and potatoes the day before, as well as the filling.
In this recipe, I left the skin on eggplant, because I never throw it away, then fried it in oil for about 40 seconds each side on moderate heat, but you don't have to do that! You can skip this step, but then remove the skin, and put it on a plate and follow the other steps with the recipe.
It is very important to remove the excess liquid from the zucchini and eggplant when preparing this moussaka.
If you like more toppings, then you can use 1 liter of béchamel sauce. In order to save you time, you can buy them in the store.
For a stronger taste, you can add 1 full teaspoon of ground paprika in the filling at the same time as the tomatoes.
The dressing can be made from boiled cream, milk and eggs, but I still replaced it with Béchamel sauce, which is more traditional for Italian cuisine. For the dressing in another way you will need: 200 ml of cooking cream or sour cream, 3 beaten eggs, salt, a little pepper, oregano and 500 ml of milk. First, beat the eggs in a small pan, add cream, salt, pepper, oregano and gradually add milk and beat with a wire.
Instead of Parmesan, you can also use ordinary hard cheese that melts easily, such as Gouda, Edam or Trappist, Cheddar cheese.
Instead of tomatoes, you can use 250 ml tomato peeled, or tomato paste, which will again equal the excellent taste of this moussaka!
If the béchamel has hardened a little during the layering moussaka, return it to a low heat and add a little milk. This sometimes happens if you have more ingredients for moussaka.
Keep the rest of the food covered in the refrigerator until 3 days, heating in the microwave oven or in the oven or pan.