Moussaka

Moussaka

There are plenty of recipes for this classic dish, but this is definitely one that's worth a try

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 1½ hours

Method

  1. Fry the onion in a little oil until soft, then add the garlic. After a minute, add the mince and brown, breaking up any lumps. Add the cinnamon, wine and tomatoes, simmer for 30 minutes, bubble off any excess liquid and stir in the parsley.
  2. Meanwhile, brown the aubergines in a little oil on both sides then drain on kitchen paper. Bring the milk to a simmer with the bay leaf and peppercorns. Heat the butter in a pan, stir in the flour and gradually add the milk, stirring continually until you have a smooth sauce. Strain and season.
  3. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Layer the cooked meat sauce and aubergine in an ovenproof dish, top with the potatoes and season. Whisk the eggs into the white sauce and spoon over. Bake for 30-40 minutes until brown.

Per serving

609 kcalories, protein 33.7g, carbohydrate 28.5g, fat 40.3 g, saturated fat 17.6g, fibre 3.7g, salt 0.73 g

Recipe from olive magazine, March 2008.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • 2008-03-05 18:42:51.666739

    TOMMY commented on this recipe

    CAN THIS RECIPE BE FROZEN

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  • Binder photo Von

    2008-03-19 20:04:10.954867

    Von rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I found this needed a lot of seasoning. It tasted better a day later (also froze a couple of portions with good results).

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  • 2008-03-20 20:56:38.447247

    spidermonkey rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    cooked for a family meal very nice indeed

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  • 2008-04-16 16:37:36.937924

    keeley rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    i dont like aubergines and have seen recipes for moussaka made with potatoes couldnt find a recipe relationg to this anywhere on your website.

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  • 2008-05-02 12:14:15.09016

    Ross commented on this recipe

    Tommy asked whether this dish can be frozen. Yes it can. And a friendly tip: please do not write in block capitals - it looks like shouting! And Keeley (aubergine hater!) - substitute the aubergines in Mr Ramsey's recipe with more potatoes. Thinly slice, par-boil, drain and cool. Lightly fry the potato slices and continue with the recipe. I had this adaptation on the Greek island of Mykonos. Also delicious!

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  • 2008-05-02 12:18:10.962665

    Ross commented on this recipe

    Sorry, I meant Olive magazine, not Gordon Ramsey. Oops!

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  • 2008-10-07 16:46:50.790937

    Sophie-Mai Porter commented on this recipe

    This recipe is really splendid especially with a nice salad to go with it. I really enjoyed making this although my downfall was putting too much salt on the aubergines but overall an excellent meal for the family. And my children loved it too! overall a success.

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  • 2008-10-12 22:55:41.202575

    Anne Magee commented on this recipe

    I made a few changes to this recipe and my moussaka was soooo good - my changes were: 1. I used beef mince (not a fan of lamb mince) 2. Slice the aubergine, place it in a colander and sprinkle it in salt - then weigh it down for about 1/2 hour with a heavy plate to drain out the juices - rinse well and then squeese dry before lightly frying it. 3. I made the mince mixture the day before (with a glass of red rather than white wine, 2 teasp of cinnamon and well seasoned with salt and pepper) to let the flavours mature. 4.Add lots of cheddar cheese to the bechemel sauce. 5. I served with a side salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and crispy roast potatoes. 6. Enjoy....with a shiraz grenache!!! It was really really tasty!!

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  • 2008-11-14 00:39:42.515036

    anniokm rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really nice recipe! In Greece though we prefer to use minced Beef and i have to suggest to Tommy not to be frozen because of the bechamel sauce!

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  • 2009-06-29 11:09:11.174809

    Kerry rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely fantastic. :-D Give it a go!

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  • 2009-07-16 10:51:39.665856

    Jo Ryan rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really lovely! I added extra garlic and also salted and drained my aubergines for half an hour as Anne suggested above, I also added cheese to the bechamel. Thw whole family loved it and I would cook this again for a more formal dinner as well.

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  • 2009-07-20 11:27:22.905015

    markinessex rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Made this at the weekend. I pre-cooked the onions, meat and aubergines etc first and then layered it all up. Put in fridge until I wanted to finish the dish off. Agree with the seasoning, put more salt and pepper in than you think, but overall a really nice dish. Served this with a nice Greek Salad.

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  • 2009-10-21 18:47:25.049914

    Emma commented on this recipe

    I didn't have enough meat (only 500gm) so substituted with finely chopped courgettes and mushrooms. Other than that and adding cheese on top I followed to recipe to the letter and it was GORGEOUS... Took a while to prepare but had the afternoon off and enjoy cooking anyway. Yum!

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  • 2009-10-21 18:55:22.427531

    Emma commented on this recipe

    I didn't have enough meat (only 500gm) for this dish so I substituted with finely chopped courgette and mushrooms. Also I added some cheddar before putting the sauce on top and then parmesan on top of that! Takes a fair while to prepare for a weeknight so is a dish for those that like to cook. The bay leaf in the milk really makes the sauce. Put two in!

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  • 2009-11-19 19:50:10.511345

    Dianne rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this recipe for dinner for my husband as he had requested moussaka and it was gorgeous; he absolutely loved it! I made a few changes because I didn't have any red wine, so I substituted it with a good stock. I also grated strong cheddar cheese into the sauce and with the auburgine I first of all sliced it and layered the slices into a colander. I then sprinkled salt over them, weighted it down with a heavy plate and left for half an hour. I then rinsed them off and dried them really well on kitchen roll after squeezing out as much moisture as I could. Finally I sprayed olive oil over the slices, spread them out on a baking tray and roasted them off until they were browned around the edges (no more than 30 mins). Doing this means that not so much oil is absorbed and it was a wonderfully tasty recipe. Yes, it's a bit labour intensive, but well worth the effort. I will definitely be making again.

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  • 2009-11-28 13:20:51.596779

    cinemike rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I used Anne's improvements - great - and Dianne's in roasting the aubergine . I also added half a red chilli with the onions because I like a bit of piquancy. Tasty, filling, excellent all round. Final thing... potatoes peeled, sliced and cooked are much better than potatoes peeled, cooked and sliced... I put them in with the aubergine in the oven to give them a bit of crispness.

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  • 2010-02-16 19:22:50.526876

    hungry horse rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 2010-03-18 15:10:15.794966

    dawn rated this recipe

    3 stars

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  • 2010-05-06 13:52:34.839694

    Anca rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 2010-06-01 14:19:31.820178

    anita_ive rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I had been craving moussaka since having it on holiday in Cyprus a couple of years ago. This version was great and exactly what I had wanted. I didn't make too many adjustments to the original recipe, other than to rinse, salt the aubergine etc... I will definitely make again, although next time I am going to try baking the aubergine as suggested by Dianne, as frying it did make the dish quite greasy.

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 1½ hours

Ingredients

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Per serving

609 kcalories, protein 33.7g, carbohydrate 28.5g, fat 40.3 g, saturated fat 17.6g, fibre 3.7g, salt 0.73 g

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