Greek · Lunch or dinner

Moussaka

Name: Moussaka
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 80 min
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 3 medium globe eggplants, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds; 2 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds; 1½ lb ground lamb; 1 large yellow onion, finely diced; 4 garlic cloves, minced; 1 can crushed tomatoes; 2 tbsp tomato paste; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp ground allspice; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 bay leaf; 6 tbsp unsalted butter; ½ cup all-purpose flour; 3 cups whole milk, warmed; ½ cup grated parmesan; ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, freshly grated if possible; 2 large eggs, lightly beaten; ⅓ cup olive oil; 2 tsp kosher salt; ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Layered eggplant, spiced lamb and golden bechamel.

Maui's an app that plans a whole week of dinners like this one. See how it works ↓

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 80 min
Makes: 6 servings
Skill: Advanced
Heat: Mild, adjustable

Halal Contains dairy Contains eggs Contains gluten

Maui says

The 20-min rest after baking is the difference between clean slices and a beautiful mess. If you cut it hot, the bechamel runs and the layers slide. Set a timer and walk away.

Ingredients

Everything below makes 6 servings.

3 mediumglobe eggplantssliced into 1/2-inch rounds
2 mediumyukon gold potatoespeeled, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1½ lbground lamb
1 largeyellow onionfinely diced
4garlic clovesminced
1 cancrushed tomatoes
2 tbsptomato paste
½ tspground cinnamon
½ tspground allspice
1 tspdried oregano
1bay leaf
6 tbspunsalted butter
½ cupall-purpose flour
3 cupswhole milkwarmed
½ cupgrated parmesan
¼ tspground nutmegfreshly grated if possible
2large eggslightly beaten
⅓ cupolive oil
2 tspkosher salt
½ tspfreshly ground black pepper

In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.

Nutrition

Per serving, as written.

820calories
30gprotein
45gcarbs
58gfat

Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.

Instructions

Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.

Before you start

Slice eggplants into 1/2-inch rounds. Salt both sides with 1 tsp kosher salt, lay on a rack 20 min to sweat out bitter water. Pat very dry.
Peel and slice potatoes into 1/4-inch rounds.
Finely dice onion. Mince 4 garlic cloves.
Warm milk in a saucepan or microwave (don't boil - just take the chill off).
Preheat oven to 400F.

Roast eggplant and potato

Brush eggplant rounds and potato rounds with olive oil on both sides. Lay on 2 sheet pans. Roast at 400F for 25 min, flipping once at the 15-min mark, until eggplant is bronzed and potatoes are tender. Set aside. Reduce oven to 375F.

25 min · hands off

Brown the meat

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add ground lamb, breaking up with a spoon. Cook 6-7 min until deeply browned. Drain off all but 1 tbsp of fat.

7 min · hands on

Build meat sauce

Add onion to the lamb and cook 5 min until soft. Add garlic, cinnamon, allspice, oregano; stir 30 sec. Stir in tomato paste, cook 1 min. Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup water. Simmer uncovered 20 min until thickened - should be saucy but not soupy. Discard bay leaf.

25 min · hands off

Make bechamel

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium. Whisk in flour and cook 2 min - should smell toasty, not blonde. Slowly whisk in warm milk, a ladle at a time, until smooth. Cook 5-6 min, whisking, until thick enough to coat a spoon. Off heat, whisk in nutmeg and salt and parmesan. Let cool 2 min, then whisk in beaten eggs in a thin stream (so they don't scramble).

9 min · hands on

Layer

Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish. Layer in this order: potatoes on the bottom (overlapping), half the eggplant, all the meat sauce spread even, remaining eggplant, then pour bechamel over the top and smooth with a spatula.

5 min · hands on

Bake

Bake at 375F for 40-45 min until the top is deeply golden and the edges bubble. REST 20 MIN before cutting - this is non-negotiable, the layers need to set or it'll slump.

40 min · hands off

Make it yours

Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.

Instead of ground lamb Ground beef

Beef cooks the same - slightly less rich than lamb but a common Greek-American sub.

Instead of ground lamb Ground turkey

Lean turkey - add 1 extra tbsp olive oil to the meat sauce to compensate.

Instead of ground lamb Brown lentils (vegetarian)

Use 1.5 cups cooked brown lentils; skip the brown step, add directly to the tomato base. Adds about 5 minutes.

Instead of served as a complete dish with a simple salad With horiatiki salad

Chop salad ingredients while moussaka rests. Adds about 10 minutes.

What keeps

Moussaka is BETTER day 2 - the layers set and the flavors deepen. Keeps 4 days fridge, freezes 2 months.

Reheat covered at 350F until warmed through, 20 min.

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