Well it was about time don’t you think? Today I’m giving you a lighter and modern version of the traditional moussaka which I am sure that you‘ll love. It’s a great recipe if you have many people coming for dinner. Serve it with a fresh garden salad and enjoy!
Ingredients
400 g lean ground beef
1 stalk of celery sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove
1 handful of finely chopped mushrooms
1 carrot, grated
1/2 can diced tomato (200 gr)
Salt, pepper, oregano, a little cumin.
6 Spanish Eggplants
8 zucchinis
6 medium potatoes
5 tablespoons olive oil.
For the yoghurt bechamel
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup (250 gr) of Greek yoghurt dissolved in 2 cups lukewarm milk.
a pinch of nutmeg
2 eggs
Salt, pepper, 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan.
How to make
Preheat the oven to 420 degrees.
Coat a skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the onion, sauté until soften and add garlic, mushroom, celery, carrot, salt, pepper, ½ teaspoon of dried oregano and a pinch of cumin. Stir and let them soften for 5 minutes. Add the ground meat and using a fork try to break it into very small pieces (you don’t want to have meatballs in your sauce) stir and let it cook until it changes color and most of it’s juices are evaporated. Add the tomato, little hot water just to cover the ingredients, lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Set aside.
Cut the eggplants, zucchinis, potatoes into 1 cm slices and lay them in a baking pan covered with parchment paper. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, add salt, pepper and bake for 15 minutes, turning them one time. Lower the oven to 350 degrees.
Use a 13X9X2 in baking pan and add the vegetables in layers, bottom layer potatoes, next layer eggplants, last layer zucchinis.
Now it’s time for the béchamel sauce, Add the yogurt in a large bowl, heat the milk and gradually add the warm milk in the yoghurt, stirring with a whisker. Using a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add the butter and when it melts add the flour and stir with a clean whisker until the flour changes just a bit of color and become brownish (not too brown though, just a bit) about 3 minutes. Add the milk and yoghurt mixture and stir with the whisker until the béchamel thickens. When it has a slightly thick texture remove from heat, add the eggs and stir vigorously, add the nutmeg and finish with the grated parmesan.
Back to the Vegetable tray, cover the vegetables with the ground meat sauce and on top pour the béchamel sauce. Add a little more of grated Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake for 50 – 60 minutes until golden brown and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting to pieces.
Enjoy!