Ah the moussaka! A real delight. It’s a dish found in many countries around the Mediterranean basin, with several variations.
In their book “Cooking, family and Greece. Kalamata ” (Keribus éditions), Pierre-Julien and Gregory Chantzios, the founders of the Kalios brand, take us to the heart of Greece, far from the clichés, in a book about cooking, travel and family. They share slices of life and family recipes.
The Chantzios brothers talk about their meeting with Hélène, who entrusted them with her recipe for moussaka.
So here’s the recipe for Hélène’s moussaka(O Moussakas tis Elénis).
Moussaka ingredients
Serves 15
- 8 to 10 medium-sized potatoes
- 10 large eggplants
- 2 kg ground beef
- 4 onions
- 12 tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Salt, pepper and cinnamon
For the béchamel sauce
- 80 g olive oil
- 12 level spoonfuls flour
- 150 cl milk
- 500 g mizithra (grated cheese, Kalamata’s “parmesan”). If you can’t find any, use the grated cheese of your choice.
Preparing the moussaka
Peel potatoes and cut into thin slices with a knife.
Wash and slice the eggplants without removing the skin.
Take a large frying pan. Pour in the equivalent of one to two centimeters of olive oil.
Add the potato slices. Careful, they must not touch the bottom, they must swim.
Brown them over medium heat; when they’re golden, remove and drain them, then arrange them at the bottom of a round, high-sided dish. They should therefore not be fully cooked.
Then brown the eggplant slices in the same way, and spread them over the potatoes.
Prepare the minced meat, browned with 4 finely diced onions in olive oil, with the grated tomatoes. The meat is cooked when the oil is completely absorbed.
Add cinnamon at the end of cooking. The meat prepared in this way is the third layer of the dish.
Finally, add a fourth layer of eggplants. Then the béchamel sauce and grated cheese.
Hélène prepares the béchamel sauce with olive oil and mizithra.
Bake at 200°C for one hour.
Moussaka can also be enjoyed reheated in the oven the following day.
You can enjoy this delicious Moussaka at the Chantzios brothers’ restaurant in the Paris region, Yaya. The ideal place to enjoy authentic Greek cuisine.
And all our articles on Greek Gastronomy.
Laure M.
