Fae's First Moussaka

Fae's First Moussaka
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Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 8
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 384.9
  • Total Fat: 15.0 g
  • Cholesterol: 74.4 mg
  • Sodium: 750.2 mg
  • Total Carbs: 28.6 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 3.9 g
  • Protein: 32.3 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Fae's First Moussaka calories by ingredient


Introduction

My attempt at making my own version of the Moussaka I had for the first time at a local Greek restaurant. I would have used ground chuck but had the already roasted beef to work with. My attempt at making my own version of the Moussaka I had for the first time at a local Greek restaurant. I would have used ground chuck but had the already roasted beef to work with.
Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients

    1 eggplant
    3 golden potatoes, steamed and then peeled by hand
    1 and 1/2 pounds diced roasted beef
    1 large onion
    1 six oz can tomato paste
    3 tablespoons Marsala cooking wine (or grape juice)
    1 tsp salt
    1/4 tsp black pepper
    3 tsp allspice
    1/2 tsp cinnamon
    1/4 tsp oregano leaves
    1/3 cup white flour
    2 cups 1% milk
    6 oz queso fresco, crumbled
    2 tsp powdered parmasean cheese
    2 tablespoons canola oil (use half cooking onions and beef, half in the cheese sauce.)
    1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

Directions

Slice top off eggplant, cut in half lengthwise, peel stripes of skin so about half the peel remains. Place cut side down on board and cut into 1/8 to 1/4 inch long slices. Place eggplant in bowl of cool water and sprinkle with salt, allow to soak to remove bitterness while you dice the onion.
Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to skillet on medium heat to warm so it is ready when your onions are diced. Add onions and diced beef to hot skillet, add all seasonings and stir well, add marsala and tomato paste when onions begin to turn translucent, cooking for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat when onions are done.
Slice peeled steamed golden potatoes into 1/4 inch circular slices and layer in bottom of large rectangular baking pan. Remove sliced eggplant from water as you layer it over the potatoes. The water should be dark from absorbing the eggplant skin and bitterness.
Layer the entire pan of the beef mixture over the eggplants and smooth down firmly. Add one layer of potatoes and one of eggplant to finish layering. Dish can be covered and placed in refrigerator if making this in stages to bake later.
In a clean skillet add 1 tablespoon canola oil and 1/3 cup of flour on medium low heat and stir the flour into the oil making a paste. Cook paste till lightly golden and add milk slowly, stirring constantly, like making a milk gravy. When mixture reaches a gravy-like consistency add crumbled queso fresco and stir till melted in. Add parmesean last and then salt to taste only if necessary.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pour cheese sauce carefully over the top layers in baking dish and smooth down. Sprinkle lightly with panko breadcrumbs and bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 40-50 minutes, checking at 35minutes for browning on top.
Remove from oven when golden, allow to cool and solidify for easy cutting. Cut into 8 equal portions and enjoy!

Serving Size: Makes 8 servings.

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user ELISELA2011.