Classic Greek Moussaka

Ingredients

2 eggplants

800 g minced meat

1 onion

160 g dry white wine

50 g cheese

3 tomatoes

vegetable oil to taste

pepper to taste

For the sauce:

40 g butter

30 g flour

500 ml milk

2 eggs

200 g cheese

Salt to taste

1 pinch nutmeg

Prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in a frying pan over low heat. Add the flour, stir with a spatula, and fry the flour and butter for 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat.

Heat the milk in a saucepan. Return the pan to low heat and gradually pour in the milk, stirring the sauce with a spatula. Reserve a small amount of milk (~100 ml) to adjust the sauce's thickness. Stirring constantly with a spatula, bring the sauce to a boil (on low heat) and let it simmer for ~3-5 minutes.

Add the grated cheese to the sauce. Stir and cook until the cheese melts. Season the sauce with salt, to taste, and grate the nutmeg. Remove from heat and let cool slightly for ~5 minutes.

Crack the eggs into a separate bowl and lightly whisk. Add the eggs to the sauce in two batches, whisking each time. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap so that the plastic wrap lies directly on the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming on the surface.

Prepare the moussaka ingredients. Peel the onion and cut into quarters. Wash the tomatoes, make a cross-shaped cut in each one, and immerse them in boiling water for ~1 minute. Then transfer the tomatoes to ice water and peel them. Cut the tomatoes into small cubes.

Wash the eggplants, remove the stems, and slice thinly. Place the eggplants in a colander, lightly salting the slices, and let them sit for about 30 minutes. Then rinse and drain.

Fry the eggplants in a frying pan with vegetable oil, then dry the slices on paper towels to remove excess oil.

Place the chopped onion in a frying pan with heated vegetable oil, lightly salt, and fry over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft. Remove the onion from the pan. Increase the heat and add a little more oil if necessary.

Add half to a third of the ground meat to the pan and fry, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula. Transfer the fried ground meat to a bowl.

Fry the remaining ground meat. Return the fried minced meat to the pan (reduce heat to low). Pour in the wine and stir.

Add the onion, tomatoes, salt, and freshly ground pepper and stir. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has completely evaporated.

Place a layer of eggplant in a baking dish. Spread the minced meat on top in an even layer. Then add the remaining eggplant slices.

Pour the sauce over the moussaka and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake for about 40 minutes, until golden brown, in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F). Remove the finished moussaka from the oven and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!