Greek Moussaka
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 1 large eggplant (aubergine)
- Salt
- Greek olive oil
Meat sauce
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) minced/ground beef or lamb
- 1 large tin (28 oz/800 g) diced tomatoes
- 1 cup (250 ml) red wine
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Greek basil (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
Cheese sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons plain flour
- 2 cups (½ L) milk
- Sprinkle of nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper
- ½ cup (120 ml) freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup (250 ml) grated cheese (e.g. Edam, etc.)
- 1 egg
Steps
- Cut the eggplant into 5 mm slices. Sprinkle liberally with salt. Leave at least 1 hour.
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Sauté the onion and garlic until the onion starts to change colour.
- Add the meat. Brown thoroughly.
- Add bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Stir until all moisture from the meat is gone.
- Add tomatoes, herbs and sauces. Mix. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add wine. Cook until the sauce is very thick with very little moisture.
- Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Cool.
- In another saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Remove from heat. Blend in the flour.
- Return to heat. Cook gently 3 minutes, stirring continuously.
- Remove from heat. Add the milk and mix. Return to heat and boil.
- Cook gently 1 minute, stirring continuously. Remove from heat.
- Add cheeses, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. Mix. Cool.
- Rinse the eggplant slices under running water. Dry on paper towels.
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Add eggplant slices, quickly turning to coat both sides in oil.
- Fry until the slices change colour and soften. Drain. Repeat with remaining slices.
- In a large casserole dish, cover the bottom with eggplant slices. Cover with a layer of meat sauce.
- Repeat layers until within 3 cm of the top of the dish.
- Mix the egg thoroughly into the cool cheese sauce. Spoon over the top layer. Sprinkle with extra grated cheese.
- Bake at 200 °C (400 °F), 45 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool and set, 10 minutes.
- Serve with a tossed Greek salad, red wine and crusty garlic bread.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Greek Moussaka” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-07-11, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.






