Moussaka making

Moussaka = a Greek layered casserole dish  – most often made with layers of eggplant slices, cheese, and a meat sauce, topped with a thick béchamel sauce.

Confession: Before last week, I had never eaten Moussaka.

But I had seen it on various menus throughout the years, and was keen to give it a try.  With its slices of eggplant, rich tomato meaty sauce and creamy cheesy layer…what’s not to love?

So I decided to try and make it at home.

I used my favourite bolognaise sauce as the base, just subbing lamb mince in place of beef.

And after grilling eggplant slices until they took on a bit of colour, I got to layering.

Eggplant…

Sauce..

Eggplant…

More sauce…and finally, more eggplant…

Confused yet?

Finished with a creamy béchamel sauce – made using butter, spelt flour, milk, parmesan cheese, a sprinkle of nutmeg and an egg yolk.

Into the oven…

And what a delightful dish it turned out to be!

This was one huge moussaka, so we happily ate in three nights in a row – served alongside a simple salad.

And, as these dishes often do, the flavours seemed to get better with age.

A handy make-ahead meal too!

What about you? Have you tried moussaka?