There are three things I love about moussaka. Firstly, I really like that the savoury meat layer is seasoned with the use of nutmeg and cinnamon, which give it a sweeter and more exotic taste, a little middle Eastern in my mind. Secondly, I love the way the eggplant becomes so silky and creamy when fried or grilled and thirdly, baked feta cheese is a revelation, as it once was when I was served it in a restaurant on a small Greek island. It came to the table straight from the earthenware pot in which it had been baked, still holding it's shape but very soft inside, garnished with a good drizzle of olive oil, a few black olives, a few oregano leaves and half a lemon to squeeze over, which I did. It tasted salty and creamy with a texture like fluffy clouds. Since then I've always crumbled feta onto the top of moussaka, no matter what other cheeses I may use.
Some versions of Moussaka have a custard-like topping as the final layer, perhaps a simple Bechamel or sometimes made richer with egg or yogurt. When I was experimenting with low carb foods, I came up with a topping of ricotta, yogurt, sour cream, cheese and feta which would bake and set with a creamy cheesy flavour and almost wobble. For this one I cheated. Born from laziness of not wanting to make a Bechamel, I used a packet Hollandaise mix. I figured it would be good enough with some Parmesan and feta. It was OK, although the artificial yellow colour was quite alarming, as though reprimanding me for using something so processed.
Like shepherd's pie and lasagna, moussaka is great for large batch cooking, as long as you make everything dry enough to be able to set into cutable layers once cool. So many times I've neglected to properly reduce any liquid in the meat layer, which results in a too wet pie which merely collapses when you attempt to cut it into equal portions.
Recipe : Large batch moussaka
Meat layer
3 tbsp oil and 2 tsp butter
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks of celery, finely sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
4 tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 beef stock cubes or 2 tsp of beef stock concentrate or 1/4 cup strong beef stock
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt or more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp oil
3 lbs of ground beef or ground lamb
1 tbsp steak seasoning
1 tsp paprika
a few drops of Worcestershire sauce 2 large eggplants, cut into thin slices, placed in a colander or sieve and sprinkled with salt. Left for 30 minutes, the salt will pull out some of the bitterness from the eggplant.
8 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 packet of Hollandaise or Becahmel sauce or made from scratch here
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 meduim sized tub of Feta cheese
First, make the meat layer. Heat the oil and butter in a very large pan over medium heat and saute the onion, carrot, celery and bell pepper until beginning to brown and become translucent and soft. Add the bay leaves and all other ingredients for the meat layer and stir well. If you have used stock cubes or concentrate instead of liquid stock, you may need to add a few tbsp of water to ensure the mixture doesn't dry up or burn.
While the vegetables are cooking, brown your meat. Heat the 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and press the ground lamb or beef into the pan with a spoon or your hands. Sprinkle over the seasoning, paprika and Worcestershire sauce and fry, whilst using a wooden spoon to break up the meat, turning it over and over in the pan as it browns. At first it will produce a lot of juice which it will fry in. Keeping the heat on medium, keep stiiring until all the juice has evaporated and the meat really begins to fry and sizzle in a dry pan. After a while, (maybe as much as 20 minutes), it will begin to brown and crisp. When you are happy with it, remove from the pan and stir into the sauteed vegetables. Stir very well.
Reduce the heat to low - medium, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. After this time, check the mixture is not too wet and once it is fairly dry, remove from the heat and spread evenly into two baking dishes.
Rinse the eggplant of the salt, drain well, dry on paper towels and lay out onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush lightly with a little more oil and grill (broil), turning over once, until the eggplant is soft and browned. I remove the slightly tough skin from the edges, but you don't have to. Lay the slices on top of the meat layer in the baking dishes.
Boil the potatoes in lots of boiling, salted water until soft. Drain, letting the water evaporate for a few moments and then mash, adding the butter, milk and salt until they are creamy and very smooth. Spread the mash equally over the eggplant and sauce.
Make up the Bechamel or Hollandaise as per the manufacturer's instructions, or make the scratch recipe and spread this evenly over the mash. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and crumble over the feta and bake in a 400oF preheated oven for about 35 minutes. I usually pop the moussaka under the grill for 10 minutes after baking to ensure the top becomes golden, crispy and bubbling.
Eat some of the moussaka straightaway if you like or simply leave to cool, cut each one into about 6 equal squares, wrap in foil and freeze.
You may also like:
No comments:
Post a Comment