Greece is a beach, cultural, historical and gastronomic destination that we love. Wonderful hotels and views accompanied by excellent local food and wine. We're in contact with the local hotels and DMCs and it's virtually certain that the country will reopen to foreigners from August. Many boutique hotels, villas and private yachts with spectacular prices for Europe's busiest summer are coming.
But before that, we're going to share with you a typical, easy and delicious recipe so that you can get a taste of Greece at home. We're talking about Moussaka. I got it from dear @gonzaloo and his @theguestfinderagency, which represents one of the best local operators and with whom we love working to create unique, exclusive, private and safe experiences for our clients. I made the recipe (photo) and I can assure you: Excellent! It was a huge hit with the family!
Basic ingredients:
- 6 eggplants & vegetable oil
For the meat sauce:
- 750g minced meat
- 2 red onions (chopped) & 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 1 can of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 glass of red wine
- Pinch of sea salt and ground pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- Pinch of cinnamon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
For the béchamel sauce
- 900ml milk
- 120g butter
- 120g flour
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 2 yolks
- 100g parmesan cheese
Step by step:
Eggplant: Cut the eggplants into slices 1 cm thick. Season with salt and place in a sieve for about half an hour. Wash the eggplants with plenty of water and squeeze with your hands to get rid of the excess water. Dry them and fry them in oil until they are well colored. Place the fried eggplants on some paper to absorb the oil.
MEAT Sauce: Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the chopped onions and sauté. Stir in the garlic, tomato puree and ground beef. Pour in the red wine and wait for it to evaporate. Add the canned tomatoes, sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, 1 bay leaf and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, turn off the heat and cook with the lid on for about 30 minutes, until most of the juices have evaporated.
BECHAMEL SAUCE: Use a large saucepan to melt some butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour stirring continuously to make a paste. Add the warmed milk in a steady stream; keep stirring to prevent your sauce from becoming lumpy. Remove the pan from the stove and add the egg yolks, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and the grated cheese. Whisk quickly to prevent the eggs from turning into an omelette!
ASSEMBLE YOUR MOUSSAKA: you will need a large baking dish, approx. 20 * 30 cm. Butter the bottom and sides of the pan and place the eggplants in layers. Pour in the meat sauce evenly. Add a second layer of eggplant, cover with the béchamel sauce and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake the Moussaka in a preheated oven at 180-200C for about 60 minutes, until the crust is light golden brown.
Serve the Moussaka with a traditional Greek salad and enjoy with a glass of wine!
