Mousakka (Traditional Recipe)

Creamy, juicy and absolutely delicious!

Mousakka (Traditional Recipe)                          

Creamy, juicy and absolutely delicious!

Mousakka is an eggplant and potato based dish with mince meat in the middle and béchamel on top. There are a lot of variations on the mousakka recipe usually by using lamb meat,pork,beef, chicken or mixed meat –pork and beef.
 In Cyprus, Mousakka  contains potatoes marrows(courgettes), eggplants(aubergine), pork mince meat (or sliced grilled halloumi cheese-as a vegetarian alternative to meat) and bechamel .
 In Greece and the Greek islands you will find Mousakka containing potatoes, eggplants(aubergine),lamb mince meat and béchamel.

Yield: Makes 6-8  portions

You will need:

For frying  the vegetables:
5 medium sized fresh potatoes
4 large eggplants(aubergines)
4 large green marrows(courgettes)
1 litre cooking oil for frying the vegetables (or alternatively you may use some olive oil with a silicon brush and cook on a ceramic non stick griddle/electric pan – or to spray the vegetables with olive oil on a non-stick cooking paper and bake them in the oven)as a healthier option.

For the meat sauce:
500gr. ground pork meat
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions chopped
50 ml. red wine
2 ripe tomatoes grated or blended(also tomato paste may be used)
1 garlic clove
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons parsley
2 bay leaves
salt and ground black pepper

For the béchamel:
1½ litre fresh milk
150 gr.vilage type flour
150 gr. Unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
a pinch of ground nutmeg
salt and white pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Clean and peel the potatoes. Cut the eggplants, courgettes and potatoes lengthwise and fry or cook on the grill or oven.

2. Dry on an absorbent kitchen paper/roll and leave on the side to cool.

3. In the meanwhile prepare the meat sauce by saute the mince meat with the oil, add the onions and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the wine, the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients and cook until all liquids evaporated and a thick sauce has formed. 

4.In a saucepan pour the milk, nutmeg salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Separately put the melted butter or vegetable oil of your choice and whisk with the flour. Pour this mixture into the milk and stir constantly on low fire until it has thicken considerably. Withdraw the pan from the heat and mix in the egg yolks.

5.To assemble put the potatoes on the base of the pan-put salt and pepper, then add the second layer –the eggplants again salt and pepper, and third layer –the courgettes  again salt and pepper to taste.
6.Put the meat sauce on top of the courgettes and finally cover with the béchamel.

7.Sprinkle the grated halloumi cheese and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes on 180-185 ⁰C until golden brown.

8.Let it set for 15 minutes, cut in pieces and serve.