Moussaka With Nutmeg And White Pepper Cream Sauce Recipes

MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Lay the slices of eggplant on paper towels, sprinkle lightly with salt, and set aside for 30 minutes to draw out the moisture. Then in a skillet over high heat, heat the olive oil. Quickly fry the eggplant until browned. Set aside on paper towels to drain.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the ground beef, salt and pepper to taste, onions, and garlic. After the beef is browned, sprinkle in the cinnamon, nutmeg, fines herbs and parsley. Pour in the tomato sauce and wine, and mix well. Simmer for 20 minutes. Allow to cool, and then stir in beaten egg.
• To make the bechamel sauce, begin by scalding the milk in a saucepan. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Lower heat; gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly until it thickens. Season with salt, and white pepper.
• Arrange a layer of eggplant in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover eggplant with all of the meat mixture, and then sprinkle 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese over the meat. Cover with remaining eggplant, and sprinkle another 1/2 cup of cheese on top. Pour the bechamel sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the nutmeg. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
• Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

EASY GREEK MOUSSAKA RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220˚celsius (430˚F).
• Line two baking trays with baking paper and spread out the eggplant and zucchini slices on top. Dab with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes. Flip them and dab with a little more olive oil, then bake again for a further 15 minutes. Once they're done, pull them out and reduce the oven temperature to 180˚C (356˚F).
• Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan over a medium high heat. Add the onion and fry for a few minutes until translucent, then add the beef mince and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the beef has browned and any liquid has reduced.
• In a separate frying pan, heat another 1-2tbsp olive oil over medium heat and fry the potato slices on both sides until lightly browned.
• Add the homemade pasta sauce (or sub with passata, or a can of diced tomatoes + 1 tbsp tomato paste) in with the beef and onion, along with the red wine. Simmer until sauce reduces and thickens.
• Assemble the moussaka layers in a large baking dish in the following order: half of the potatoes, half of the meat sauce, eggplant, then remaining potatoes, zucchini and remaining beef sauce. Crumble feta cheese over the top.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, flour and milk. Stir constantly and thoroughly with a small whisk to keep it smooth. Note: This step goes against most béchamel recipes, but it hasn't failed us once! It will start to thicken after around 5 minutes.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and add in the nutmeg, salt, pepper, shredded cheese and Parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese has melted and sauce texture is smooth and creamy.
• Pour the white sauce all over the moussaka base. Top with more grated cheese if you like, then pop it in the oven. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the cheesy top is golden brown.

MOUSSAKA WITH NUTMEG AND WHITE PEPPER CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer on kitchen cloth or paper towels; sprinkle with salt.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet; cook lamb, stirring, until lightly browned. Spoon off excess fat. Mix in onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, 4 minutes. Mix in garlic, parsley, tomato paste, salt, cinnamon, oregano, nutmeg and pepper; stir in the wine. Heat to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Cover; cook 15 minutes. Uncover; simmer until sauce is thick, about 5 minutes.
• For cream sauce, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Gradually stir in milk. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Beat eggs and egg yolk in a small bowl. Mix in a little of the hot sauce. Blend egg mixture gradually into sauce; cook, stirring, over low heat 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover. Keep warm.
• Blot moisture from eggplant slices with paper towels. Arrange eggplant in a single layer on a baking sheet. Lightly brush with half of the remaining oil. Broil in oven, about 4 inches from heat, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Turn; brush opposite sides with oil. Broil until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven; reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
• Place half of the eggplant in a single layer in an ungreased 2-quart square or oval baking dish. Top with meat sauce; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese. Cover with remaining eggplant; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the cheese. Pour on cream sauce; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until top is lightly browned, 45 minutes-1 hour.

CREAMY MEDITERRANEAN MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Peel and boil the potatoes.
• Cut eggplant up into 1/4 inch slices, salt, place into strainer and weigh down for 15 minutes. (I don't actually strain them, but most people do).
• Meat Layer: Saute onion and garlic in 2 tbsp of oil (I prefer olive). Add ground meat, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Brown meat while breaking up the clumps. Set aside.
• Drizzle just enough (olive) oil to cover the bottom of a hot pan. Place eggplant slices in pan. Brown both sides of all the eggplant slices. They're thirsty little guys so you'll have add oil to pan as you go.
• Cut boiled potatoes into 1/4 inch slices.
• Cream Sauce: In a sauce pan, on low heat, melt butter. Then add flour, stir until it has the consistency of cookie dough, don't let it brown.
• Add milk, a bit at a time. (If you do it all at once you'll have clumps). You want a thick cream soup consistency.
• Add cheese, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, cumin and salt. Stir until smooth and blended. Set aside.
• Spread some cream sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 pan. Layer eggplant, meat, sauce, potaotes, meat, sauce, eggplant, sauce and grated cheese.
• Bake 30 min at 450. I like to cover it with tin foil for the first 20 min and then take it off for the last ten so the cheese can get a bit brown.
• Even more delightful after freezing and reheating.
• NOTE: I add spices to taste. 1/4 tsp is a conservative start, go wild! Freshly grated spices give an added zing. I also add onion and garlic power when on hand. Also I use 3 parts veg oil and 1 part olive oil to get the taste but ease the cost.

HEARTY MOUSSAKA WITH LOW-FAT WHITE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with olive oil spray. Arrange eggplant slices and half of zucchini rounds, overlapping slightly, on 1 baking sheet. Arrange potato rounds and remaining zucchini, overlapping slightly, on second baking sheet. Spray vegetables generously with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until tender and beginning to brown, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
• Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is tender, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons water if mixture seems dry, about 7 minutes. Stir in oregano. Add beef; sauté until brown, breaking up with back of spoon. Add tomatoes with their juices and tomato paste, breaking up tomatoes with back of spoon. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Mix in 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, egg whites and cinnamon.
• Spray 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with olive oil spray. Sprinkle 1/4 cup breadcrumbs over bottom of dish. Arrange potatoes in prepared dish. Spoon half of beef mixture over. Arrange eggplant slices over. Spoon remaining beef mixture over. Top with all of zucchini, overlapping slightly if necessary.
• Pour warm Low-Fat White Sauce over moussaka. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over. Bake until top is golden brown, about 55 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.