Easy Eggplant Moussaka Recipe – For Sunday dinner at Mom’s, I created an easy version of eggplant moussaka.
Of course, we could be like Miss Clairee and call it an aubergine moussaka recipe!
I also would venture to say there are as many variations as there are great cooks in Greece.
Call it eggplant, grape or aubergine, not only is it a time consuming dish to prepare and assemble but there are hundreds of Greek eggplant moussaka recipes.
An easy version? Let me rephrase that to easier, quicker, semi homemade and prepared to fit into Mom’s fairly restrictive diet.
There is nothing difficult about making Greek eggplant moussaka. It’s just that the various components of the recipe have to be prepared seperately before the dish itself can be assembled.
Here is a recipe for an easy moussaka casserole.
What’s in an eggplant moussaka? Thin slices of eggplants layered with lamb that has been seasoned with onions, garlic, tomatoes, and fresh herbs to form a scrumptious meat layer which is topped off with a thick and creamy cheese laced béchamel sauce.
Did I mention that we love lamb? Particularly lamb prepared à la Grecque.
The combination of spices used to season lamb in many Mediterranean countries is a flavor that is forever on my taste buds. It is, however, easy to make Greek seasoning mix at home (although you can buy the dry version ready made).
Between you and me, the dry version does not even come close to delivering the flavor punch of its fresh counterpart.
The dry seasoning works for certain recipes while a similar combination of fresh spices and herbs is ideal when using ground lamb.
For this easy eggplant moussake recipe, chop the onions and use a press to mince the fresh garlic. The parsley and fresh herbs are chopped fine with kitchen scissors. The bay leaves stay whole and are removed when you are building the layers of eggplant and meat.
Serving of Eggplant Moussaka
Fill the bowl of a mini-processor with loads of fresh garlic and onions, fresh oregano, rosemary, thyme and parsley.
Next, sprinkle everything with sea salt crystals and a good amount of freshly cracked pepper.
Add fresh lemon juice to create a paste/rub that becomes more potent as it sits.
Rub this mix on a lamb roast or lamb shanks and allow the meat to marinate until you are ready to cook it. The longer it sits in the rub, the better the flavors!
Denby Praline Large Oblong Dish
Nice, neat portions are not an easy task while the casserole is still hot. My photo is proof of this.
But we were hungry and I needed a photo! All you need to make this a complete meal is a crisp Greek salad full of tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and feta and tossed with a Greek vinaigrette. Opa!
P.S. Many Greek eggplant moussaka recipes include cinnamon and nutmeg as ingredients. I’ve eaten these dishes with gusto but I am not crazy about the flavor of cinnamon with meats.
Nutmeg tastes best in a custard or in a pie. Loved your Easy Eggplant Moussaka Recipe but please Mrs. Kristofides, absolutely no mint in my Pastitsio 🙂
1 Cook, 2 Countries & A Taste For World Cuisines: Cooking A La Mode De Chez Nous - Cuisine d'Hier Et d'Aujourd'hui! For the love of home style cooking and great food. Memories are made of this!
This looks so delicious! I can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for making this look easy… I”ve always been hesitant to try making it, because I’ve never worked with Eggplant before.