Musaka is a prominent representative of the traditional Greek cuisine... It is, in fact, flaky vegetable casserole with fried minced meat flooded creamy cheese sauce... Due to its similarity with the famous Italian masterpiece, moussaka is also called “ vegetable lasagna". One of its famous variations is Greek moussaka with eggplant. The recipe is proposed to be used for both festive and everyday table... Musaka is very satisfying and beautiful dish... Moreover, it is very high in calories and far from dietary: it can be fed big company or serve as a full-fledged family dinner... Moussaka does not need additional side dishes due to the presence of a variety of vegetables that make it healthy as well. This dish is especially suitable for those who willingly include eggplants in their diet. Indeed, in this dish they are especially tender, juicy and aromatic.

Moussaka with eggplant

To make moussaka you will need:

• 4 eggplants (about 700 g);
• 500 g minced meat;
• 2 onions;
• 4-5 tomatoes (about 300 g);
• 75 g hard cheese;
• 150 ml of dry white wine;
• 50 ml of vegetable oil, better than olive oil.

The classic Greek eggplant moussaki recipe uses lamb or beef to make minced meat. As a last resort, you can mix beef with pork in a 1: 1 ratio.

To make the sauce you will need:

• 400 ml of milk;
• 150 g of hard cheese;
• 2 tbsp. l. flour;
• 2 eggs;
• 75 g butter;
• a pinch of grated nutmeg.

Food preparation:

Sauce preparation:

1. Melt the butter in a preheated saucepan.
2. Pour flour into the butter and fry it, stirring constantly, until slightly golden brown, carefully breaking the lumps.
3. Pour in a little warmed milk. Continuing to stir constantly, bring the mass to a homogeneous consistency and thickening (the sauce should have a firmness liquid sour cream). Remove from heat.
4. Beat the eggs a little with a fork and gently add them to the sauce, trying to do it quickly so that they do not have time to curdle from the temperature.
5. Grate the cheese. Stir in the milk and egg mixture while warm to melt. Season the mixture with nutmeg, salt to taste and mix well.

Greek moussaka with eggplant

Moussaka making process:

1. All layers are repeated once more starting with the eggplant.
2. Pour the formed casserole evenly creamy sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese on top.

For baking, it is better to use a dish with high sides so that when pouring the sauce into the dish, it does not overflow.

Ready-made moussaka is a fragrant casserole with golden brown cheese crust... Before serving, it should be allowed to brew and "rest" for about 15 minutes, so that it is saturated with the juices of all ingredients. It is more effective to present moussaka on the table directly on a baking sheet or in a baking dish, and divide it in portions right in front of the participants in the meal.

Many culinary experts argue about whether to use potatoes in Greek moussaka with eggplant? Rather, it is an individual decision that everyone makes in accordance with their taste preferences. Potatoes will not spoil the overall impression of the dish, but will only emphasize its taste and give an extraordinary aroma.

Before adding potatoes to moussaka, cut them into small slices, lightly fry in a pan and put in a baking dish in the first layer, then minced meat, eggplants and then according to the main recipe.

Unlike the main recipe, the eggplant and potato moussaka should take a little longer to bake. Do not forget that potatoes are used semi-cooked and also take time to fully cook.

In order for the finished dish to turn out less fatty and high-calorie ingredients, you can not fry, but bake for 15 minutes on a baking sheet covered parchment paper without oil. Another way to get rid of excess oil is to place the sautéed vegetables on a paper towel for 5 minutes and let the fat absorb.

There are a great many varieties of musaka. In almost every country there is a similar flaky dish using baked vegetables, various sauces and additional ingredients such as mushrooms, bell peppers, nuts and even exotic seafood.

Moussaka is a real find for improvisation and culinary experimentation. It is worth cooking it once and it will take one of the first places in the list of favorite family and special meals.

Video recipe for making moussaka with eggplant, potatoes and zucchini

This greek dish includes both the meat component and the side dish. It does not require any additions and is surprisingly tasty. There are many recipes for Greek moussaka with eggplant, and any option will appeal to the most demanding gourmet.

Moussaka is not a national Greek dish. It has an author, the famous Greek chef Nikos Tselemendis. He was an adherent of not only national, but also European cuisine, therefore, the recipe invented by him whimsically combines traditional Greek vegetables and lamb, and exquisite French bechamel.

Yummy - you will lick your fingers.

The recipe is only about a hundred years old, but moussaka is enjoyed in all countries. There are many ways to prepare it with different ingredients, but it all started with the classic Greek moussaka.

This dish can not be called either low-calorie or dietary, but how delicious it is! When cooking, they do not spare spices and olive oil.

What is important, according to the classic recipe, moussaka in Greek is prepared only from lamb. Well, as a last resort - from beef.

Of course, you can take pork or chicken, but that will not be the same.

Ingredients:

• 4 small eggplants with a total weight of about 700 g;
• already twisted minced meat - 0.5 kg;
• 2 heads of onions;
• several ripe tomatoes total weight of about 300 g;
• cheese hard varieties- 75 g;
• dry white wine 150 ml;
• olive oil - 2 tbsp. spoons.

Moussaka is supposed to be poured with sauce. For him you need to take:

• hard cheese - 150 g;
• 2 chicken eggs;
• 400 ml of milk;
• 2 tbsp. tablespoons of flour;
• butter - 75 g.

Season the sauce with a pinch of grated nutmeg, and the minced meat with dry herbs to your liking.

How to cook:

1. If the eggplants are bitter, they are cut into rings, without peeling, and sprinkled with salt. In 20 minutes. washed and dried.
2. Tomatoes are peeled, for which they should be scalded beforehand.
3. Fry eggplant rings on high fire adding oil. It usually takes 1 minute to brown them.
4. The onion, cut into half rings, is sautéed in butter until it becomes transparent. Add minced meat, knead and fry for 5 minutes. Season with herbs, pour in wine and stew to evaporate all the liquid. At the end of stewing, salt to taste.
5. Add the tomatoes, cut into circles.

Prepare the sauce separately:

• fry flour on butter until golden brown;
• diluted with warm milk, adding it in portions and kneading thoroughly until smooth;
• warm up sour cream until thick, turn off the fire;
• slightly beaten eggs are kneaded into the sauce so that they do not curl;
• Remaining finely grated cheese, add to the sauce, season with nutmeg and salt and mix well.

Next, cover the bottom of a tall baking dish with eggplants (take ½ part), place half the minced meat and cover with half the tomatoes. Spread the products again in the same sequence, pour over the sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese.

The dish is baked in a hot oven for about half an hour.

The liquid should evaporate completely, but the food should not be allowed to burn.

Before serving, let the dish brew for a quarter of an hour.

Cooking option with potatoes

The cooking technology is the same. If you add 300 g of sliced ​​potatoes to the ingredients specified in the previous recipe, the dish will have a different taste.

Potatoes must be pre-fried until half cooked or baked in the oven for 10 minutes. When forming a dish, it is laid in the first layer. The baking time for Greek moussaka with eggplant and potatoes will have to be slightly lengthened as potato slices take longer to cook than other ingredients.

With the addition of zucchini - step by step

It's easy to cook musaka with zucchini, they will add to the dish special taste and juiciness.

With zucchini, the dish will be juicier and tastier.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggplants;
• 1 zucchini squash;
• 1 onion;
• 5 tomatoes;
• 500 g of minced lamb or veal already rolled;
• 300 g of hard cheese;
• 4 tbsp. tablespoons of flour;
• 2 glasses of milk;
• 70 g butter;
• 4 tbsp. tablespoons of olive oil.

The dish is seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.

How to cook:

1. Eggplant and zucchini cut into thin slices are sprinkled with salt.
2. After a quarter of an hour, wipe them off the juice and lightly fry with the addition of olive oil.
3. Peeled tomatoes are chopped, as well as onions.
4. Pass the onion in oil for 3-5 minutes.
5. Add minced meat to it, mix and bring to half-readiness.
6. Spread tomatoes to semi-finished ingredients, season with spices, mix.
7. Fry the flour in butter for 3-4 minutes. The mixture should be homogeneous, without lumps.
8. Dilute it with slightly warmed milk, achieving uniformity after each portion.
9. Remove the sauce from the heat, then mix it with half of the cheese grated on a fine grater.
10. Divide the zucchini and eggplant into 3 parts, and the minced meat in half.

Next, a third of the eggplant and zucchini is spread on the bottom of a deep baking dish, then half of the minced meat, which is sprinkled with half of the remaining cheese, again a third of the eggplant and zucchini, the remaining minced meat, cheese, and on top of the zucchini and eggplant. Everything. Pour the prepared bechamel over the moussaka and bake in a not too hot oven for about 40 minutes.

After baking, the musaka should cool slightly before serving, so its taste will become brighter and more intense, and when cut it will not disintegrate.

Greek vegetarian moussaka

This recipe is for those who do not eat meat in any form, but do not deny themselves eggs and milk. The dish does not resemble the classic Greek minced meat moussaka, although it is prepared using the same technology. But from this it certainly does not become less tasty.

The dish is perfect for a pleasant evening dinner with the family.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium carrots and 2 onions;
• a small celery root weighing 100 g;
• 5 potatoes;
• 0.5 kg asparagus green beans;
• 0.5 cups of rice;
• 4 eggs;
• 2/3 cup milk;
• olive oil as needed.

In this recipe, the gravy is made from a mixture of milk and eggs, but you can also make a classic béchamel.

How to cook:

1. Three carrots and celery on a grater, chop the onion. Fry vegetables until soft.
2. Boil rice and beans until tender. We cut the last into pieces.
3. Three coarse grated potatoes cooked in their skins and peeled.
4. We make the sauce by mixing lightly beaten eggs with milk. You can add your favorite dried herbs to it.
5. Put in a greased baking dish, first the potatoes, and then the rest of the ingredients in layers.
6. Fill everything with sauce and shaking the mold so that it saturates each layer.

Vegetarian moussaka is baked twice as fast traditional dish- only 20 min. in a hot oven with a temperature of 200 degrees.

With eggplant and rice

There is very little rice in this dish, but it is he who will absorb the delicious juice that meat and vegetables secrete.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggplants with a total weight of about 500 g;
• 100 g of rice;
• 2 pcs. onions and large tomatoes;
• a couple of cloves of garlic;
• olive or vegetable oil - how much will go away;
• 2 tbsp. tablespoons of flour and butter;
• 2 glasses of milk;
• 100 g of hard cheese, ideally Parmesan;
• 500 g minced pork or mixed with beef;
• a pinch of grated nutmeg.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

How to cook:

1. We peel the eggplants, cut into longitudinal plates and soak for half an hour in well-salted water. We wash and dry on a napkin.
2. Fry on both sides until golden brown, but not overdrying.
3. Cook the rice almost until tender.
4. Fry finely chopped onion until golden brown, adding chopped garlic.
5. After adding minced meat, fry a little more, add salt and simmer with the addition of finely chopped tomatoes for 5-7 minutes.

Cooking moussaka in a multicooker will take a minimum of time.

Ingredients:

• 2 small eggplants;
• bulb;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of sour cream, flour;
• 0.5 kg of minced meat;
• 1 st. a spoonful of tomato paste and butter;
• 2 eggs;
• 150 g of hard cheese;
• clove of garlic.

Spices and salt to taste and desire. In a slow cooker, mousaka is cooked a little differently, but it still turns out very tasty.

How to cook:

1. Cut the eggplants into circles half a centimeter thick, without peeling them.
2. Sprinkle with salt and let stand for about half an hour. We wash and dry. In this case, you do not need to fry them.
3. Chop the garlic and onion, fry with a piece of butter in a multicooker bowl in the "Baking" mode until golden brown.
4. Add minced meat, season with salt, pepper and spices, fry for another 20 minutes.
5. Stir with tomato paste and languish for another 10 minutes.
6. We mix cheese, eggs and sour cream, add salt and little by little flour, making the sauce uniform.
7. We put eggplant circles on the minced meat, fill with sauce and cook in the “Baking” mode for another third of an hour. Make sure the "blue" vegetables are browned.

Moussaka with minced meat is a visiting card of Mediterranean cuisine. Nobody knows the exact history of this dish, it is prepared in many countries, and there are as many cooking options as there are countries themselves. In Greece, eggplants are added to meat, tomatoes are offered in the Serbian version, and potatoes in Bulgaria. In Arab countries, the dish is served as a cold salad with tomatoes and eggplants. By the way, the origin of the word "moussaka" (stress on the last syllable) is Arabic, and it means "chilled".

I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the recipe for Greek moussaka, so beloved by all tourists. In Greece, moussaka is also served in inexpensive cafes, and in luxury restaurants. But to try this delicious casserole it is not at all necessary to go somewhere, the proposed recipe with a photo is as close as possible to classic Greek and can be easily used at home. For cooking, you will need eggplants, some potatoes, minced lamb and traditional dressing - Bechamel sauce. And of course, almost no Greek dish is complete without cheese and olive oil. Vegetables for casseroles can be pre-fried or baked in the oven - do as you like. In the first version, olive oil is used to grease the pan, in the second - vegetables.

Olive oil is a truly Greek product. Extra virgin oil is the most useful, it contains a lot of fatty acids (oleic, omega 3 and 9), vitamins A, D, E, K. It is believed that such oil is not used for frying, since all the benefits disappear under the influence of high temperature. But contrary to popular belief, many Italian, Greek, French chefs cook exclusively on it. There is a way to maximize the benefits of olive oil: fry foods over low to medium heat. If the oil starts to burn and smoke, the temperature is exceeded. You can also bake vegetables in the oven - the oil will definitely not burn there, if you, of course, set a timer.

Greek moussaka vaguely resembles Italian lasagna, the recipe for which is found. Only instead of the dough, a vegetable layer is used. Initially greek recipe assumes only eggplant, but modern modifications allow the addition of potatoes and zucchini. The eggplant and potato Greek casserole turns out to be very satisfying and stands out slightly from the low-calorie Mediterranean dishes. According to tradition, it is prepared with minced lamb, but with pork and beef it comes out quite tasty and juicy. You can even try to take minced turkey or chicken if you need to reduce the fat content of the dish. What else gives the casserole a flavor? It is a red wine that is added during the stewing of meat. And they give a special Mediterranean flavor meat dish cinnamon stick and mint. How to prepare juicy and tasty moussaka step by step? I share the recipe!

Ingredients:

for moussaka:

• 3 eggplants (600-700 g);
• 4 large potato tubers (600-700 g);
• 3 small tomatoes (300 g);
• 1 small onion (300 g);
• 500 g lamb or minced pork;
• 200 g mozzarella;
• 100 ml dry red wine;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• salt, pepper to taste;
• cinnamon stick;
• a few mint leaves;
• extra virgin olive oil.

for béchamel sauce:

• 1 l. milk;
• 100 g butter;
• 3 tbsp flour;
• a pinch of nutmeg;
• 0.5 tsp provencal herbs.

Greek moussaka recipe with eggplant, potatoes, minced meat and béchamel sauce

1. Cut the washed eggplants into slices about half a centimeter thick.

2. Salt and leave for 20-30 minutes so that the slices let the juice out, with which all the bitterness will come out of the eggplant.

3. Cut the potatoes into slices of about the same thickness as the eggplant.

4. Put the potatoes on a lined baking sheet baking paper, lightly drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees. It should soften and brown a little on top.

5. Make cuts on the skin of the tomatoes to make it easier to remove.

6. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and leave for 5 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion.

Tip: To avoid crying when slicing, chew something, or rinse the knife cold water.

8. Put onion in a frying pan with heated olive oil and sauté until half cooked.

9. Put the minced meat on the onion and break it with a spatula, then mix with the onion.

10. Tomatoes can already be skinned. We cut the fruits small cubes.

11. Minced meat grabbed, meat juice began to stand out.

12. It's time to add the tomatoes to the minced meat.

13. Pour in red wine.

14. Add spices: mint and cinnamon stick.

15. Add water and simmer over low heat.

16. Wash the eggplants and squeeze out the juice, dry with paper towels.

17. We also bake the eggplants until soft (about 20 minutes), greasing the top with a little olive oil.

18. Not a single moussaka is complete without Bechamel sauce. Interestingly, the origin of the fill is not Greek, but French! The preparation of the sauce is described in detail. So, melt half of the butter over low heat, add flour and mix immediately. Now small portions pour in warm milk, stirring continuously. Salt and pepper, mix and cook after boiling for another 2-3 minutes. Now turn off the heat, put in the remaining oil and cover the pan with a lid until it is completely dissolved. Bechamel is ready. In the process of hardening, it will thicken a little.

19. Half of the liquid in the pan has evaporated, leaving the minced meat in the sauce. You can get a cinnamon stick (it has already worked its way), add the squeezed garlic, stir and remove the pan from the stove.

20. Rub the mozzarella on a fine grater.

21. We begin to collect moussaka with potatoes and eggplants. Grease the bottom of the form with béchamel sauce.

22. Put a layer of eggplant in the mold, place the circles tightly to each other.

23. Put the minced meat on top.

24. Sprinkle with a little cheese.

25. Put the potatoes and cover with the sauce.

26. The next layer is minced meat again.

27. And again sprinkle with cheese.

28. We spread the remaining eggplants.

29. Pour in all the remaining sauce and mozzarella. Put the eggplant moussaka in a heated oven and bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.

30. The musaka is baked, the cheese is beautifully browned. You can garnish a Greek casserole with a sprig of mint and serve. Bon Appetit!

Musaka is a dish akin to borscht. There is also endless debate about it - what ingredients, in what order, eggplant processing technology, which cuisine belongs to ... I am still inclined towards the Greek cuisine. Otherwise, where would this recipe come from in my family of Ukrainians-Russian-Moldovans-Jews? Not otherwise than the influence of the Azov Greeks;)

So my moussaka needed the following ingredients:

Ground meat:

4 small eggplants

400 gr. homemade minced meat(300 beef, 100 pork)

2 large sweet onions (I used white / pearl onions)

3 large cloves of garlic

3 large meaty tomatoes

green basil

salt,

freshly ground black pepper

olive oil

Sauce:

500 ml milk

50 gr. butter

50 gr. flour

salt,

freshly ground black pepper

nutmeg

First of all, we send the blue ones to the oven, they are also eggplants. Many people advise pinning so that the skin does not burst. But, since we take it off - this skin - it makes no difference to us whether it bursts or not. the photo just shows one eggplant with a burst skin. During ripening in the oven, turn them over a couple of times so that they are baked evenly everywhere. We take it out and let it cool.

While the blue ones are cooling, we cut the onions - I cut them finely, I don’t like large onions in a dish, caramelize them for about 5 minutes over low heat in vegetable oil, add chopped garlic - fry for 2 minutes.

Add the minced meat and stir well so that the minced meat becomes grains. Speaking of minced meat, in general we always make moussaka with lamb, but in difficult times, beef and pork go well. For my taste, it is strong for the quality ready meal does not affect. add coarsely chopped tomatoes, chopped greens to the minced meat. I used a mixture of lemongrass basil and clove basil. They give such a strong aroma when steamed that I considered it blasphemous to add anything else. Salt and pepper. Let stand on the fire for another 5 minutes.

We clean the blue ones, cut into pieces, add to the minced meat. We transfer to a heat-resistant container.

In the meantime, make the sauce. This is a classic bechamel. We take the butter, melt it in a saucepan, add the flour and stir actively for a couple of minutes so that the flour does not burn and mix well with the butter. Then add cold milk. Mix vigorously so that there are no lumps. add salt, SSSP and nutmeg on the tip of a knife. Voila, the sauce is ready. If you get it very thick, add milk. And if you like the cheesy flavor, add grated Parmesan to it.

Pour the prepared minced meat with sauce.

And we send it to the oven, for 30 minutes.

Our readiness is checked by smell. As soon as it comes to the bedroom, to the husband for the laptop, who immediately comes off his car forums and rushes to the kitchen for his big spoon - then it's ready.

Our family loves juicy, non-photogenic mash :) And if you prefer a moussaka that can be cut and will keep its shape - before placing the minced meat in a heat-resistant mold, drain the excess liquid. And you will have drier moussaka.

Bon Appetit.

When traveling in Greece, tourists do not miss the opportunity to get acquainted with local cuisine. Piquant taste Many people like traditional Mediterranean dishes, therefore, returning to their native land, travelers often try to repeat the creations of Greek chefs at home. Among the popular dishes are Greek salad, Dzadziki, Taramasalata and Greek Moussaka with eggplant, the recipe for which we will give in today's article. After reading the material, you will learn how to cook classic Musaka, as well as what variations of this dish are found.

What is Moussaka in Greek

Every restaurant, cafe or tavern in Greece serves the traditional Moussaka - a layered Greek casserole with eggplant, minced meat and creamy sauce. By outward appearance and the cooking technology is very similar to Italian lasagna, with the only difference that the Greeks use vegetables instead of pasta sheets. This dish is also associated with French cuisine, because the casserole is poured with the famous bechamel sauce.

This combination of European flavors with traditional Greek products is due to the fact that the creator of Musaka, chef Nikos Tselemendis, not only loved the national cuisine, but also appreciated the culinary findings of other countries. As a result of the hobbies and experiments of the Greek chef, classic recipe Greek Musaki with eggplant with béchamel sauce. Consider the detailed composition of this original recipe.

Ingredients

It is difficult to surprise modern gourmets, so classic recipes are constantly undergoing changes in the composition of the ingredients or the method of production. We will also look at variations of the Greek casserole, but first, let's look at the original classics.

Traditional Moussaka is made with eggplant and minced lamb. Lamb is a favorite meat of the Greeks, and will not tolerate substitution with other types of meat delicacies. Beef, pork, chicken and turkey are a completely different taste for a Greek dish.

This is how it looks full list containing the main ingredients of Musaki:

• Eggplant - 1 kg;
• Minced lamb - 500-700 gr.;
• Onions - 2 pcs.;
• Tomatoes- 3 pcs.;
• Butterolive - 2 tablespoons;
• Cheese - 100 gr.;
• White dry wine- 150 ml.

In addition, you need to stock up on spices and products for making the sauce.

The composition and proportions of spices completely depend on the preferences of the chef. Sometimes the eggplant Moussaka contains only ground pepper, salt and nutmeg. But in most cases, the dish is flavored with a whole mixture of herbs. For a rich taste, add a sprig of cinnamon, nutmeg, oregano, lemon zest to the minced meat, Bay leaf, salt, red pepper and common ground pepper.

A Greek casserole is topped with béchamel sauce, which will require the following foods:

• Milk - 0.5 l.;
• Butter - 90 gr.;
• Egg - 2 pcs.;
• Cheese - 150 gr;
• Flour - 2 tablespoons

General cooking principles

Cooking Musaki is a rather lengthy process, consisting of several preparatory phases... The table below contains a description of each stage and important notes on cooking technology.

Moussaka in Greek with eggplant
№	Stage	Description	Nuances and notes
1	Slicing eggplants.	At the discretion of the chef, you can cut vegetables lengthwise into large slices, or across into round pieces. Most chefs prefer to peel the skin, but in the classic recipe, eggplant is added to a dish with the skin. During the cooking process, it softens and does not interfere with enjoying the finished dish.	So that the vegetables do not taste bitter, after cutting, keep them for 20-30 minutes in a "salt bath" (for 1 liter of water, 2 tablespoons of salt). Dry the wedges with a paper towel after the procedure.
2	Preparing tomatoes.	The tomatoes are peeled and cut into circles. Before assembling the layers, the tomatoes are sautéed a little in a pan.	To easily get rid of the skin, dip the cut vegetables in boiling water for 1 minute, then rinse with cold water and remove the skin.
3	Roasting and braising (onion, minced meat, tomatoes, wine, spices).	Put the peeled and finely chopped onions in a preheated pan. With the appearance of a golden color, minced meat is added to the onion, mix thoroughly and continue to fry. When the meat starts to juice, it is seasoned with spices and poured over with wine and water. The meat component is left to simmer until the liquid evaporates.	Products are fried exclusively in olive oil. Lamb is used as minced meat, but, as a last resort, beef can replace it.
4	Frying eggplant	While the meat is stewing, the prepared eggplant slices must be fried in a separate pan.	Fry over high heat, no more than 1 minute for each side of the vegetable.
5	Making the sauce	Put butter in a frying pan and warm it up a little. Then add flour to the butter and fry until golden brown. Milk is slowly poured into the mixture, stirred, and the mass is brought to the consistency of liquid sour cream, and then removed from the heat. Beat the eggs a little and quickly pour into the prepared mixture. It remains to add grated cheese, season the sauce with nutmeg and salt, and mix thoroughly again.	The base is prepared on minimal heat, stirring constantly. Milk and eggs are added carefully so that they do not curdle ahead of time.
6	Build layers	Prepared food is laid out in a baking dish in the following order: Eggplant (1/2 part); Minced meat (1/2); Tomatoes; Eggplant; Ground meat; Bechamel sauce; Grated cheese. The dish is placed in a preheated oven and baked for 40-50 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees.	Before serving, the vegetable casserole should be infused for 15-20 minutes.

This is how traditional Greek food is prepared. Now let's look at popular recipe variations.

Musaki recipes

In addition to classic way manufacturing there are many delicious variations of this dish. For example, Moussaka with eggplant and potatoes, lean casserole, Moussaka with rice and more than 14 recipes for cooking this dish in the oven. In addition, it is often not lamb or beef that is used as meat, but chicken and pork. And the composition of spices for an appetizer is completely inexhaustible. Chili, cinnamon, garlic, dill and parsley, nutmeg, black pepper - Musaka goes well with everything.

Classic Greek Moussaka with Eggplant and Potatoes

This variation is different from classic dish"Greek Musaka with minced meat and eggplants" only with potatoes. The steps in the process are as follows:

1. Coarsely chop the eggplants, potatoes and tomatoes. Bring the vegetables separately in a frying pan until half cooked.
2. Fry the minced meat, adding a little parsley, salt, garlic, as well as olive oil and pepper.
3. Prepare Bechamel. Fry the flour in butter, slowly adding milk (500 ml) to the mixture. Remove the thickened mass from heat and add beaten eggs (2 pcs.) To it, season with nutmeg and stir.
4. Put everything in layers: potatoes, eggplant, minced meat, tomatoes, again eggplant and minced meat. Pour over the sauce and add the grated hard cheese sprinkle (150 gr.). Place in the oven.

Moussaka with potatoes is baked for about 60-80 minutes.

Vegetarian (Lenten) Greek Moussaka

Preparing the classic eggplant Musaki recipe is a huge portion of calories. If you are a supporter of the lighter and proper nutrition, then you can change the composition of the food and prepare a vegetarian Moussaka.

Required Ingredients:

• carrots (2),
• potatoes (5),
• celery (100gr),
• green beans (500g),
• rice (half a glass),
• eggs (4),
• milk (200 ml),
• olive or vegetable oil (50 ml),
• onions (2).

Finely chop the onion, grind the carrots and celery, then put the vegetables in a pan and fry. Rice, beans and potatoes are boiled separately. The finished beans are cut into pieces, and the potatoes are grated on a coarse grater. Prepared products are laid out in a form in layers, which are done in this order:

• potato;
• fried vegetables;
• rice;
• beans.

The sauce is made from a mixture of eggs and milk, but the classic Bechamel is also acceptable. Vegetarian Musaka is baked for only 20 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees.

For lean dishes In addition to rice, beans or carrots, cooks use other vegetables. Therefore, it is not at all uncommon for Musaka with cabbage, bell pepper, pumpkin, green peas etc.

Moussaka in Greek with eggplant and zucchini

Many people like to combine zucchini and eggplant in Musaka, so the dish turns out to be more juicy and rich.

Such a casserole is being prepared with minced meat (meat mixtures of lamb, beef or veal are acceptable), the only difference is in the amount of vegetables. The courgettes are sliced ​​and cooked in the same way as the eggplants, and you can even fry the vegetables together. The only thing to note is that the zucchini should not be soaked in water or kept in salt, because they will lose their consistency.

Variation with eggplant and rice

Another recipe for people who do not accept meat and high-calorie pastas. With rice, Moussaka is prepared a little differently, so the complete step-by-step instruction cooking.

1. Eggplants (2 pcs.) Are peeled, cut into large chunks and fried. The fried vegetables are spread on paper to allow the glass to excess oil.
2. Rice (150 gr.) And white beans(300gr.) Boil until tender and mix with each other.
3. Tomatoes (3 pcs.) Are finely chopped and sautéed in a frying pan with spicy herbs(taste).
4. Prepared products are laid out in a mold in the following sequence: eggplants - tomatoes - rice and beans - tomatoes - eggplants. The dish is baked for 30 minutes.

Ready Moussaka is served without sauce, but sprinkled with fresh herbs.

A traditional Greek dish is prepared very tasty using a multicooker. Thanks to the gentle heating of the Moussaka bowl, the taste becomes more tender.

Ingredients for the dish:

• eggplant - 2 pcs,
• onion - 1 pc,
• minced meat - 500 gr,
• eggs - 2 pcs,
• cheese - 150 gr,
• sour cream - 2 tablespoons,
• flour - 2 tablespoons,
• tomato paste - 1 tbsp,
• butter - 1 tablespoon,
• garlic - 1 clove.

Cooking process

Cut the eggplants into slices and stand for 20 minutes. in a salt bath, dry. Chop the onion and garlic, fry in the "Baking" mode until golden brown. Add the seasoned minced meat to the onion and continue cooking for another 20 minutes. Season the mixture with tomato paste, leave to simmer in the same mode for 10 minutes

During this time, carefully mix the grated cheese, eggs and sour cream, achieving a homogeneous thickish mass. Open the bowl, put the eggplants on top of the minced meat and pour the sauce over the dish. Leave to cook for another 20 minutes, until the vegetables are browned.

Moussaka with chicken and eggplant

As popular and delicious with chicken salads and casseroles, and Greek Moussaka goes well with poultry. The cooking method is similar to classic recipe, only instead of minced meat, chicken fillet is finely chopped and fried with vegetables. The dish is laid out in layers and poured with a sufficient amount of béchamel sauce.