Adam's Authentic Moussaka

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Adam's famous Moussaka recipe.

Image stolen from iga.net
Ingredients:
Base

  • 1kg of beef or lamb mince
  • 2 cans crushed tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp. tomato paste
  • 2 heaped tbsp. mixed herbs
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 2-4 Bay leaves
  • 2 medium or 1 large onion
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 medium or 3 small eggplants
  • 1kg of potatoes

White Sauce

  • 1L Milk
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 2-3 tbsp. flour
  • 1 large onion
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 Bay leaves

Putting it all together:
White Sauce 

Cut in half and peel the onion. Pin a bay leaf to each half with the cloves.

Put in a saucepan with the milk and nutmeg and begin warming, covered over a very low heat for an hour or so. It doesn’t need to boil or cook, just heat up and release the flavours from the onion and spices. 

When the milk is hot and the onion has softened a little, remove from heat and take the onion, cloves and bay leaves out.

Melt the butter in a clean saucepan over low-medium heat then slowly add the flour, whisking it in a bit at a time to form a thick, smooth paste. Keep whisking and add the warmed, flavoured milk one ladle at a time. The flour/butter paste will dissolve into the milk and thicken it up – KEEP WHISKING until all the milk has been added and sauce takes on a smooth, thick, creamy consistency. At this point you can add a dash of your favourite grated cheese for extra flavour, but it’s not essential.

The Base
Chop and brown the onion and garlic, add the mince and cook until brown. Add salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Stir through crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the bay leaves. 

Put on low heat and simmer covered for at least 40 min (the longer the better).

Don’t be afraid to make it saltier or stronger-flavoured than you would for pasta as it has to flavour the potato and eggplant too. These will absorb salt from the sauce. Once the flavours of the sauce have infused, uncover and let reduce until it is quite thick and ‘dry’ without burning. A runny sauce will result in a sloppy Moussaka. Remember the potatoes and eggplant will release moisture when cooking too.

While the sauce is simmering, cut the eggplant and potatoes into slices approx. 1 cm thick. This can be done lengthways or shortnessways – your choice.
Once the sauce is done, take out the bay leaves and put a layer of potato slices in the bottom of a deep baking pan, then cover with a thin layer of sauce followed by a layer of eggplant and another of sauce. (Some people fuss around with salting, sitting then rinsing the eggplant before they cook it. This is a pointless waste of time and salt. Eggplant is neither poisonous nor bitter.)
Any leftover slices of potato and eggplant can be julienned and sprinkled over the top.

Pour the white sauce over the top of the layered sauce and veggies in the baking tray. 
Garnish with some freshly cracked pepper and grated parmesan cheese. 

Cook COVERED in an oven at 160C for approx. 2 hours. This should soften up the veggies and start to brown the white sauce. 
Take off the lid and turn up the heat to 180C for a little longer if you want the top to brown a bit more. 

Take from the oven and let sit and cool for 10-15 min. 
Slice up and serve with a fresh, green salad or, of course, a Greek salad!
Enjoy.