Moussaka is something Hunter and I enjoy getting at Greek restaurants, so when I decided to try and make it at home I was certain I wouldn’t be able to recreate what we have had when eating out.  I think we were both surprised that this recipe made a moussaka that was as good if not better than many we’ve had at restaurants.  And it actually held together when I served it, which was a major victory for me.  This dish is pretty time and energy intensive, but none of the steps are especially difficult, and the result is really delicious. You could easily double the recipe and add on very little to the time and effort, and have an extra dish for the freezer to heat up on the next cold day.

I adapted this recipe from two that I found online, here and here.

Step 1:
Cut 2 large eggplants into thin slices and line them up along the sides of a colander. Put a plate under the colander to catch the juices that will drain. Sprinkle with sea salt and set aside. (I like to leave the skin on the eggplant, but you can peel them if you prefer).

Step 2:
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil over high heat. Slice two large russet potatoes into very thin, about 1/8 inch, slices. If you have a mandolin slicer, use that on a medium setting.  Then boil the slices until they are soft enough for a fork to easily pierce them, but don’t let them get too mushy. They need to still hold their shape.

Step 3:
Now it’s time to make the custard sauce.  Melt 5 tablespoons unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in 6 tablespoons  flour until it forms a smooth mixture.  Cook this mixture, stirring constantly for about a minute.  Then remove the pan from the heat and add 3 cups whole milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and a pinch of nutmeg.  Return to the heat and whisk constantly while bringing to a boil.  Let this simmer 2 minutes, and then pour the sauce into a bowl and mix in a quarter cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese is melted, then let the sauce cool for a bit.  Once cool, whisk in 1 large egg and the yolks of two other eggs.

Step 4:
Now make the meat sauce.  Heat a half tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat, and once hot, add about a cup of diced yellow onion.  Cook this until it is quite tender but not brown, and then add 3 minced garlic cloves.  Cook the garlic for about a minute, then add 1 pound (more or less as you like) of ground meat. Lamb is the traditional meat for this dish, but I bet you could use beef, pork, turkey, buffalo etc. with different but also tasty results. I used lamb.  Break the meat up into small pieces, then add a bay leaf, a half teaspoon salt, a cinnamon stick (or a half teaspoon ground cinnamon), a pinch of allspice, a pinch of ground cloves, and a small grinding of pepper.  Stir to mix in the spices, and cook until the meat is no longer red. Then add about a half cup of water and stir again.  Adjust the heat so the mixture simmers, and let cook for about 30 minutes until the sauce thickens up a bit.

At this point, if you plan to cook the moussaka the same day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Step 5:
While the meat sauce is cooking, you can fry the eggplant. By this point, the eggplant should have released some brownish juices.  Rinse the eggplant of the salt and pat very dry with paper towels.  Put a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and heat it over medium high heat until it gets shimmery.  Then sautee the eggplant, a few slices at a time, in the oil until lighly browned and fully tender, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.  When cooked, place on a rack to drain of excess oil and continue until all the eggplant is cooked.  You will probably have to add more oil as you go, but make sure to let the oil get hot before adding the eggplant, otherwise the eggplant will soak up too much oil.

Step 6:
Time to assemble the moussaka! Get a rectangular baking dish and brush some olive oil on the bottom, and then sprinkle the bottom with 1/4 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs.  Lay half of the eggplant in the bottom of the dish, overlapping the pieces if necessary but try to cover the whole pan bottom.  Then put half of the meat sauce over the eggplant, and smooth it out with a spatula.  Layer the rest of the eggplant over the meat sauce, and then add another layer of meat sauce.  Then put the sliced potatoes over the second meat sauce layer, letting them overlap to completely cover the meat.  Finally, pour the cheese sauce over the potato layer and smooth it out, making sure all the potatoes got a nice layer of sauce on top. Bake the dish, uncovered, until the sauce is bubbly and thick, and a knife can easily make it through all the layers, about 30-45 minutes.  Let it sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.