Total: | 2 hr |
Prep: | 30 min |
Cook: | 1 hr 30 min |
Yield: | 15 to 20 servings |
Ingredients
- 8 long narrow eggplants (or 5 to 6 medium size)
- Extra olive oil, for greasing pan and brushing eggplant
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 pounds very lean ground beef or ground lamb (twice ground)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pepper, to taste (ground fresh)
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, plus 4 tablespoons, for topping
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1/2 pound Parmesan or Romano cheese, freshly grated
- 12 to 14 Royal (or any brand) milk biscuits finely crushed or cracker meal
- 11 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 15 by 10-inch deep pan greased (with olive oil)
- Jelly roll pan
Instructions
- Peel and slice eggplant into 1/4-inch slices lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt. Place in a colander to drain (about 30 minutes). Rinse and let dry between paper towels.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place eggplant onto well oiled jelly roll pans. Brush with olive oil. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until tender. Set aside. In a large skillet cook onions in 1/4 cup water, 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt until onions are clear. Remove and set aside. In same skillet brown meat. Add cooked onions, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar, tomato sauce and 2 tablespoons of butter.
- Cook, stirring well. Reduce sauce until almost dry and set aside. In 15 by 10-inch greased pan sprinkle 1/2 of the cracker crumbs to cover the bottom (the rest will be used for the top). Place a layer of eggplant close together over cracker crumbs. Top with 1/3 of the grated cheese. Add 1/2 of the meat mixture. Spread evenly. Repeat once more and top with eggplant and cracker crumbs. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese. Beat 11 eggs and 1 cup of milk together well. Spoon entire mixture on top of mousaka wetting all crumbs and cheese. Drizzle top with 4 tablespoons melted butter. Bake in 350 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes until golden brown on top and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool and cut into diamonds or squares. Serve warm.
- This recipe freezes well. Thaw and cut into pieces and heat through.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size | 1 of 18 servings |
Calories | 746 |
Total Fat | 48 g |
Saturated Fat | 16 g |
Carbohydrates | 53 g |
Dietary Fiber | 10 g |
Sugar | 13 g |
Protein | 29 g |
Cholesterol | 194 mg |
Sodium | 906 mg |
Reviews
I’ve been making this particular recipe for years! I’ve done it with both beef and lamb. I usually end up adding alittle more of the tomato sauce and the spices- play with it to your liking. It freezes very well and is a great option to pull out of the freezer on a busy day when you didnt have time to prep dinner!
I think that something is very wrong with this recipe. I followed it exactly but the flavour was bland.
This is a little time consuming but worth the effort.
We loved it. Easy ,good and a change from normal American food. Katie from Olympic said Moussaka was good and she was right. It has meat, vegies, eggs, cheese and crackers a little of what most of us have at home. Not disappointing.
We all enjoyed this recipe very much. Our daughter is getting married and i will make this for my new son in law.