Potassium-rich beverage that is really pleasant. Not just plain tomato juice, either. For the greatest Bloody Mary, serve it straight up or with vodka.
| Prep Time: | 50 mins |
| Cook Time: | 50 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 1 9×13-inch pan |
Ingredients
- 3 large eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
- 3 large potatoes, thinly sliced
- 3 large zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 5 cups milk
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- salt to taste
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 5 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil grate.
- Brush eggplant, potatoes, and zucchini lightly with extra-virgin olive oil. Grill vegetables until just tender and golden brown. Layer potatoes into the bottom of a 9×13 inch glass baking dish. Next layer in the eggplant, followed by the zucchini; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, and cook until the flour smells slightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Whisk in milk, nutmeg, and salt. Bring to a bare simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes. Place the egg yolk into a bowl, and quickly whisk in 1/4 cup of the thickened milk, a tablespoon at a time. Quickly stir the egg yolk mixture into the thickened milk until smooth, then set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the ground beef and onion, and cook until the beef is crumbly and no longer pink. Drain off any excess grease, then stir in the oregano, parsley, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Turn heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- To assemble, spread the meat mixture over the vegetables, and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Pour the white sauce overtop, and smooth with a spatula.
- Bake moussaka in preheated oven until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes.
- You may substitute ground lamb for the ground beef, or use a combination of the two.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 722 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 61 g |
| Cholesterol | 125 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 15 g |
| Protein | 31 g |
| Saturated Fat | 16 g |
| Sodium | 405 mg |
| Sugars | 20 g |
| Fat | 42 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This is the best moussaka I’ve ever tasted (and I’ve tasted a fair amount of them — I’m Greek). The depth of flavor from grilling the vegetables takes the whole dish over the top! I made one for me and one for my parents, and they raved about it too! Moussaka is a lot of work, no matter which recipe you follow. I recommend this one.
Very authentic dish and a great way to introduce kids to eggplant!
This recipe is very misleading. No normal grill can handle “3 large eggplant” 3 large potatoes,” and “3 large zucchinis.” Stupidly, I loaded my good sized grill with all of this, and (1) there was so much stuff, the grill never heated up above 350 F. (2) If burned the heck out of the eggplant and the potatoes. I salvaged what I could, and completed the dish, but the potatoes and zucchini were way under cooked. I put the whole thing back in the oven for 40 minutes at 375 F and the dish is tolerable but basically tasteless. Bad, Carl P.
delicious! I cut it in half and we still had enough for 3 meals (for the two of us!) Instead of grilling the veggies on the outdoor grill, I cooked them on the griddle on my stove top…tastes even better the second time around.
Made it tonight, and it was fab! The kids loved it more than Lasagne. Great recipe, although I think the measurements for the milk are a bit off. I think I only used 2-3 cups of milk, and it was perfect.
This was amazing for me. Loved how the layer of flavor were quite distinct but worked together for the whole dish.
Finally! An eggplant dish that my husband thoroughly enjoyed! This was my first time making moussaka, and I chose this version for two reasons – the potatoes, and the grilling. Grilling gave the eggplant good body, since mushiness is usually my husband’s #1 complaint about eggplant. And the thinly sliced potato base just seemed like something that would work really well. I did not have any zucchini on hand, and I was also out of feta, so I substituted parmesan. Other than that, I followed the recipe very closely. I did season the potato and eggplant slices with oregano while I grilled them. We really enjoyed the combination of flavors, and my husband even agreed that he would enjoy having this recipe again. I love eggplant, so this is a win-win discovery for me. Thanks for such an interesting recipe.
Having bought some eggplant at the farmers market I was looking for grilled eggplant recipes and happened upon this one. I don’t eat meat or dairy, but it was very easy to veganize. I used Gardein crumbles to replace the ground beef (although I might try with mushrooms instead next time), and almond milk and non dairy butter in the sauce. And I used a vegan feta cheese I made with tofu. I grilled the veggies one night and assembled and baked the next night so I didn’t really find it that time consuming (I did use canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh). I found this very tasty and love all of the vegetables in it. And it makes a lot of food – will definitely be freezing some. I will definitely make this again.
This was very good and I made it pretty much as directed, eliminating the oil in the pan prior to browning the beef. I also used two egg yolks because I made a little extra béchamel sauce and it needed thickening. I would make this again. This was my first adventure with eggplant. Also the weather is bad here so I didn’t grill, I just roasted veggies in oven prior to layering with a spritz of olive oil. All together a hearty change from our normal cuisine!
A wonderful classic low carb Greek recipe. I don’t have an outdoor grill, so I broiled them 5 inches from the burner on a cookie sheet, 10 minutes on the first side, 5 to 7 minutes on the second. Before broiling, i added 2 tbs olive oil, 2 T Italian spice, and a teaspoon or 2 of kosher salt and stirred the veggies in this. I halved the recipe since there are only 2 of us and it made 6, not 4, portions. the only other amendments were 3/4 teas of nutmeg instead of a pinch (I wanted the nutmeg flavor to come through better. Doing it again, I would not halve the white sauce, it is sooo yummy, and it was a little thin when halved. Don’t tell anyone, but it is even good cold. This is going to be a go-to recipe for when I am making dinner for a group.
So the flavor of this was great. Reason I only gave it 3 stars is it was way too much work. Started at 3pm worked straight until 6. Way way way too much ingredients called for. One and a half zuccini is plenty. Had a whole extra plate piled high left over. 3 egg plants was fine, 3 large potatoes was too much 2 would have worked fine, 2 large tomatoes is more then enough i had tons left over. Also 7 tablespoons of flour is not enough to thicken the sauce. It turned out like soup. Double the flour and cooked longer. This dish has great potential but needs a lot of changes to the portions listed in the ingredients and you definitely need a sous chef unless you wanna feel like a zombie all day.
As always, I had to tweak the recipe a little, although I’m sure it would have been fantastic without any changes. Instead of grilling the potatoes, I made mashed potatoes and spread them over beef mixture. Then I poured the bechemel sauce over the potatoes. I also took another reviewer’s recommendation and used 1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg instead of just a pinch. I think next time I will use a little less sauce, though. It’s really rich!
I thought is was just ok.This recipe did not have the depth that I’m used to . I’m not sure what spices are missing but the dish was just ok. It was a lot of work for just a so-so dish.
Fantastic!
Tried this rcipe last night for the family. Everyone loved it. That includes one teen who avoids most veggies, and on in his twenties who won’t touch pasta in any form (so appreciated the potatoes). It is an unseasonably frigid and – yesterday-snowy winte here, so I substituted my broiler for the barbecue grill. That probably deprived the dish of a small amount of “smoke” flavor that the grill would have added. Since I will Definitely make this again (and again), I can find out what the grill adds when the weather warms up here. Also used ground lamb, which is what I ususally use to make moussaka. It would have been good with ground beef, but I think it’s better with the lamb. Thanks for the recipe!
Very tasty! I have made moussaka for years but this is the best recipe for updated tastes. I did use ground lamb for a more authentic flavor, upping the fat content.
What a delicious moussaka! I didn’t change a thing. I loved it and my husband too. By following the directions I managed to (successfully) make bechamel sauce from scratch for the time ever 🙂
this recipe takes forever! More than 50 minutes.
Absolutely delicious as is! Could add a little more spice/flavour to the meat. I roasted the veggies in the oven at 375 F and used venison instead of beef. I added a little garlic to the meat and used parsley flakes (from lack of fresh parsley). It was my first time making béchamel sauce and it turned out great (be careful not to let it burn and don’t be too cheap on the nutmeg) and the amount was perfect. I worried that it wouldn’t all fit in the 9×13″ dish but it filled exactly to the top and didn’t spill over while cooking. It took me 2 hrs to prepare + the 30 mins final cooktime. I enjoyed making it and we really enjoyed eating it!
If you love to cook this is fun to make but does take time. On the second attempt I boiled the potatoes and put foil and olive oil on the grill to cook the eggplant and zucchini. My grown son who is a picky eater asked why I didn’t make MORE! Well worth the time it takes.
I did not like this at all. Not sure if I missed something in the recipe or if it was really that bad. Ive had Moussaka in restaurants and loved it so I know what its supposed to taste like. I would not make this again