Moussaka

There are certainly several recipes in the world for Moussaka, and as far as I am concerned, there is no wrong way to make Moussaka.  The first time I had this dish, it was prepared lovingly by a dear friend's mother in eastern Europe on a cold evening.  There were layers of potato, minced meat, and eggplant married together with a thick layer of a yogurt-y custard.  This is not that Moussaka.  Sorry to disappoint, but when I saw this recipe, in a Greek cookbook, I was immediately intrigued.  Here was a completely different dish, save for the use of eggplant and my addition of yogurt, but the two were called by the same name. 

It turns out that Moussaka is much like curry in the sense that there is no wrong/right way to make it.  It is more or less a mixture of vegetables and perhaps meat cooked/served with some element of dairy ontop.  It also usually has eggplant as one of the main ingredients. 

My recipe (adapted from the recipe I found in the book, of course) calls to roast the vegetables before layering them into the dish to bake.  It is sort of a 'wet' moussaka, but if you would prefer for yours to be less 'saucy', shall we say, I would recommend roasting the vegetables longer and adding more salt, at this phase.  Also, make sure that the tomatoes are very well drained before layering for the final bake.

2 aubergines

4 zucchini

2 bell peppers, colours of your preference

1 can of diced tomatoes

olive oil

1t. dried oregano

salt and pepper

Greek yogurt, for serving

-Begin by slicing all of the vegetables into .5inch rounds and lay them out on two roasting sheets. 

-Drizzle them with oil and season with salt and turn to coat, making sure that there is only one layer of vegetables on each pan. 

-Roast in a 400 oven until the vegetables have lost enough moisture, anywhere from 20-35 minutes.

-Drain the tomatoes and stir in the oregano.

-Spray a casserole (6x13 inch or there abouts) with oil and begin to layer: first the aubergines, tomatoes, then zucchini and peppers; repeat. 

-Drizzle the final layer with a bit of oil and bake in a 350 oven for 20-30 minutes, until it is piping hot.

I got what would normally be 6 servings out of this, but that night it was the main course and was completely devoured by only two people within an hour of being out of the oven.  I served it with Greek yogurt, just to add  a different texture and temperature.  I also heated some pita but if you would prefer a starch, such as rice or bulgur, be my guest. 

For the last side note, I normally use the 'fire roasted' canned tomatoes because I am of the opinion that they have a better flavour.  Obviously, use which ever you feel like, even using fresh tomatoes (either roasting with the other vegetables or sauteing with some olive oil and garlic and onions).  It is Moussaka; make this dish your own, as I and so many others before me have done.

Happy eating.