Moussaka (Dairy-free)

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Step 1

To prepare this Greek moussaka recipe, begin by preparing the eggplants. Remove the stalks from the eggplants and cut them into slices, 1 cm thick. Season with salt and place in a colander for about half an hour.

Step 2

Rinse the eggplants with plenty of water and pat them dry. For a lighter version of the traditional Greek moussaka try drizzling the aubergines with some olive oil and bake them for 20 minutes. Set aside when done.

Step 3

Slice the washed potatoes into 0.5cm, half a finger width slices. Bake them in the same way as the eggplants. Season with some salt and set them aside when done.

Step 4

Prepare the meat sauce for the moussaka. Heat a large pan to medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the chopped onions and sauté, until softened and slightly colored. Stir in the mince breaking it up with a wooden spoon and sauté. When it starts to brown, add the the garlic and tomato paste and sauté until the garlic starts to soften. Pour in the red wine to deglaze the meat juices and wait to evaporate. Add the tinned tomatoes, the sugar, cinnamon, 1 bay leaf, the ground cloves, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes or until most of the juices have evaporated. Set aside when done.

Step 5

repare the béchamel sauce for the moussaka. Use a large pan to melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the flour whisking continuously to make a paste. Add warmed milk in a steady stream; keep whisking in order to prevent your sauce from getting lumpy. If the sauce still needs to thicken, boil over low heat while continuing to stir. Its consistency should resemble a thick cream.

Step 6

Remove the béchamel pan from the stove and stir in the egg yolks, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Whisk quickly, in order to prevent the eggs from turning an omelette! Season with salt to taste. Take one spoon full of béchamel and stir it in the meat sauce. Set the béchamel sauce aside.

Step 7

Now it’s time to assemble the moussaka. For this moussaka recipe you will need a large baking dish, approx. 20x30cm / 8x12inch and 8cm/3 inch deep). Spray the bottom and sides of the pan with non stick spray and layer the potatoes first (if you’re using them). Pour in half of the meat sauce and spread it out evenly. Don’t forget to remove the cloves and the bay leaf!. Add a layer of eggplants, pour in the remaining half of the meat sauce and then top with all of the béchamel sauce and smooth out with a spatula.

Step 8

Preheat you oven at 180C/350F and bake your musaka for about 60 minutes or until its crust turns light golden brown. Even though it will be really hard to do so, you should wait for the moussaka to cool down and be just warm to the touch before cutting into pieces. This will prevent the béchamel sauce from pouring out when you’re cutting your pieces.