Mashed Potato Topped Moussaka Recipes

MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• For the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cook the potato slices for 5 minutes (do not cook longer) in heavily salted, boiling water. Meanwhile, slice the eggplant into 1/4-inch slices, brush with the olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoons salt and the pepper on both sides. Place on a baking sheet and cook in the oven, 6 to 7 minutes per side. Set aside the potato and eggplant slices for assembly.
• For the meat sauce: In a large saucepan, sweat the onions with some salt in the olive oil over medium heat. After 5 minutes, add the ground beef and cook until golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg and garlic, and cook until fragrant. Turn the heat up to high, and then deglaze the pan with the red wine, allowing to bubble and reduce for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and lower the heat to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.
• For the bechamel: In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour, whisking to make a paste. Whisk constantly for 2 minutes, allowing the mixture to bubble. Add the warm milk slowly, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Once the sauce starts to come to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes, whisking very frequently. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg, and set aside.
• For assembling the moussaka: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Before assembling, taste each of the 4 layers and confirm that they are properly seasoned. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with vegetable oil. Lay out the potato slices, pressing gently into the pan. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Place the eggplant on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle with another 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Spoon the meat sauce on top, followed by 3 more tablespoons of Parmesan. Finish with pouring over the bechamel and top with the last 3 tablespoons of Parmesan. Cover with foil (sprayed lightly with vegetable oil) and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and continue baking for an additional 30 minutes.

EGGPLANT AND POTATO MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Place the eggplant slices in a large bowl and cover with water. Add 1/2 cup of salt and agitate gently to combine. Let stand for 20 minutes, then drain and pat dry with paper towels.
• While the eggplant is soaking, heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a large skillet and, working in batches, add the potato slices and cook until lightly golden on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper-lined plate to drain and repeat with any remaining potato slices. Season lightly with salt.
• Place 1 cup of the flour in a bowl and dredge the eggplant slices in the flour. Shake to remove any excess flour. Add 1/4 cup of the remaining oil to the skillet and, working in batches, fry the eggplant slices until golden on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add more oil to the skillet as needed in 1/4 cup increments. Repeat until all eggplant has been cooked. Transfer to a paper-lined plate to drain.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet and, when melted, add the onions. Cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Add the ground meats, garlic, and oregano and cook, stirring to break up any lumps, until meat is browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the red wine and cook until evaporated. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, water and parsley and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all liquid is evaporated, 5 to 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and, when hot, whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk, stirring until smooth and thick. Season with salt, to taste, and whisk in the egg and egg yolk. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese and set aside, covered, while you assemble the casserole.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish and place the sliced potatoes in the bottom of the dish in an even layer. Top with half of the eggplant slices and half of the meat sauce. Spoon 3/4 cup of the bechamel sauce evenly over the meat sauce and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the cheese. Top with the remaining eggplant slices, pressing down on the layers gently with your hands to compress. Top with the remaining meat sauce and then spread the remaining bechamel sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on the top and heated throughout, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let stand for at least 40 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

BEEF AND POTATO MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, 7-9 minutes, breaking into crumbles. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in water, tomato paste, parsley, salt, mint if desired, cinnamon and pepper. Set aside., For sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into eggs; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Add cheese and salt., Place half of the potato slices in a greased shallow 3-qt. baking dish. Top with half the cheese sauce and all of the meat mixture. Arrange remaining potatoes over meat mixture; top with remaining cheese sauce., Bake, uncovered, until a thermometer reads 160°, about 1 hour. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

VEGETARIAN MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Rinse and pat eggplant dry. Cook eggplant and zucchini in hot oil until lightly browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side; remove with a slotted spoon to drain on a paper towel-lined plate, reserving as much oil as possible in the skillet
• Adding more oil to skillet as needed and let it get hot. Cook potato slices in hot oil until browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side; remove with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate, again reserving oil in the skillet.
• Saute onion and garlic in reserved oil until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in vinegar, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium-low; cook until liquid is reduced in volume and thick. Stir in tomatoes, lentils, 1/2 the juice from lentils, oregano and parsley. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes.
• Layer about 1/3 of the eggplant, 1/3 of the zucchini, 1/2 the potatoes, 1/2 the onions, and 1/2 the feta into a 13x9-inch baking dish. Pour tomato mixture over vegetables; repeat layering, finishing with a layer of eggplant and zucchini.
• Cover and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
• Stir butter, flour, and milk together in a small saucepan; bring to a slow boil, whisking constantly until thick and smooth. Season with pepper and nutmeg; stir. Remove from heat, cool for 5 minutes, and stir in beaten egg.
• Pour sauce over vegetables and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for another 25 to 30 minutes.

MOUSSAKA COTTAGE PIE

Steps:

• Heat 2 Tbs. oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cinnamon and cloves; cook about 1 minute. Add meat, stirring to break it up, and cook about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and raisins; simmer 10 minutes.
• Arrange eggplant slices on a lipped cookie sheet. Brush both sides with remaining oil, and season with salt and pepper. Broil on upper oven rack, turning once with kitchen tongs, until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.
• Reduce heat to 400 degrees. Lay eggplant in a single layer over meat mixture. Whisk egg into mashed potatoes; spread over eggplant. Bake on lower rack until sauce is bubbly, about 20 minutes.

SHORTCUT MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• In a colander, toss the eggplant and 1 teaspoon salt. Drain in the sink for 15 minutes.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees Toss the eggplant with the oil and spread on a large baking sheet. Roast, turning occasionally, until golden and tender, about 40 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.
• Bring 6 cups water, the potatoes and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Lower heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes; drain and return potatoes to the warm pot. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg yolk. Mash potatoes with milk-egg mixture, 1/2 cup cheese, butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt and nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
• In a very large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the lamb, breaking it up with a fork as it cooks. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Push the meat to one side of the skillet and spoon off all but a thin layer of fat from the skillet. Add the onions and cinnamon sticks to the skillet. Cook until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir the lamb back into the onions and add the garlic and ground clove. Cook 2 minutes more. Stir in the tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Cook until tomatoes are soft and the mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Stir in the eggplant.
• Spoon into a 9-inch baking dish. Spread the mashed potatoes over the lamb. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and the remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake until top is golden brown and slightly crusty, about 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

MASHED POTATO-TOPPED MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450ºF.
• Toss eggplant with oil; spread onto rimmed baking sheet. Bake 25 to 30 min. or until golden brown and tender, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, cook potatoes in boiling water in large saucepan 12 to 15 min. or until tender. While potatoes are cooking, brown meat with onions and garlic in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Return meat mixture to skillet; stir in spices. Add tomato paste and tomatoes; mix well. Simmer on medium-low heat 10 to 12 min. or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
• Reduce oven temperature to 400ºF. Add eggplant to sauce; mix well. Set aside. Drain potatoes; return to pan. Whisk egg yolk and milk until blended. Add to potatoes along with 1/2 cup cheese; mash until desired consistency.
• Spoon meat mixture into 3-qt. casserole sprayed with cooking spray; top with potatoes. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and remaining cheese.
• Bake 30 min. or until golden brown.

GREEK MOUSSAKA WITH POTATOES RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onions. Sauté until translucent, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add the ground meat and continue to sauté until no longer pink. Drain the skillet.
• Add tomatoes, breadcrumbs, cinnamon, bay leaves, allspice, cloves, salt, pepper, wine, and tomato paste. Mix well.
• Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low. Cover with the lid slightly cracked and simmer, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid is gone, about 45 minutes. If there is still liquid in pan, continue to simmer uncovered, stirring to prevent sticking, until the mixture is as dry as possible without burning. This step is crucial to prevent the final dish from having too much moisture.
• Discard bay leaves, and cinnamon stick (if used), adjust salt and pepper to taste, and set sauce aside uncovered until ready to use. Meanwhile, position a rack in the upper and lower third of the oven and heat to 400 F.
• Toss the potatoes on 2 rimmed baking sheets with enough oil to coat. Arrange the slices in single layers. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Roast until the potatoes are light golden, flipping the baking sheets half way through cooking, about 45 minutes total. Set aside until ready to use.
• Gather the ingredients.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium-low heat until warm.
• In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Slowly add the flour, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until there are no lumps. Continue to cook until the mixture is fragrant, about 1 minute more.
• Increase heat to medium-low. Slowly add the milk while whisking continuously. Whisk until sauce begins to thicken, 12 to 13 minutes. It should be creamy, yet thick.
• Remove from heat and whisk in the salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks together. While whisking continuously, slowly drizzle in 2 to 3 tablespoons of the béchamel mixture. Continue to whisk in another 2 to 3 tablespoons of the béchamel mixture.
• Return the béchamel-yolk mixture to the béchamel pan. Remove from the heat and whisk until well-combined. Set aside until ready to use.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Reposition a rack in the center of the oven and lower the heat to 350 F. Generously spray a large baking or roasting pan (about 15 x 10 x 2, or 5 quart) with cooking spray. Sprinkle bottom of the pan with breadcrumbs. Place a layer of potato slices on the breadcrumbs. It's OK to overlap.
• Spread meat sauce evenly on top of the potatoes, pressing it down lightly all the way to the sides of the pan.
• Cover evenly with the remaining potato slices. Slowly pour the béchamel sauce over top and spread evenly with a spatula, if necessary.
• Transfer the pan to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the béchamel sauce begins to set, about 35 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over top. Continue to bake until golden and bubbling around the edges, 35 to 40 minutes more.
• Remove moussaka from oven and allow to cool for 20 to 30 minutes.