In the midst of this summer’s Paris heatwaves I decided to go Greek — the latest iteration of which, now that it’s a bit cooler, is moussaka. With its richly spiced meat sauce nestled between layers of tender eggplant, and its creamy topping, this is comfort food at its finest. Moussaka can be a one-dish meal or the star of a Greek dinner, preceded perhaps by tarama, a Greek salad or a spinach-feta pie, and followed by baklava (recipe coming soon).
Moussaka / Moussaka
Making moussaka is a bit of a production, but the effort is so, so worth it. And the good news is that you can make the recipe in stages. There’s the meat sauce, which combines ground beef or a combination of beef and lamb with tomatoes, cinnamon and allspice, as well as onion, garlic and herbs. The eggplant rounds are fried in olive oil — this is the longest step. Then you make the creamy béchamel sauce and assemble your masterpiece, sprinkling it with grated parmesan before popping it into the oven.
If you must know, my Greek spree was inspired by Mamma Mia, a feel-good film I’ve seen countless times (thanks to my daughter) but hadn’t seen recently. When Netflix announced they were about to pull it from their roster, I had to see it one more time. The aqua sea, the singing, the dancing and wonderful Meryl Streep — everything conspired to put me into a Greek mood. I have since made variations on Greek salad, spicy meatballs in broth (add a little lemon juice for a Greek flavor), eggplant caviar and tzadziki (you can find the tzadziki recipe at the bottom of the recipe for Greek zucchini fritters).
Another Greek-style favorite of mine is pasta with fresh tomatoes, feta and basil. I generally use fusilli or pipe rigate, although any pasta is fine. Prepartion is super simple. Combine some olive oil, a minced clove of garlic, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Chop up some tomatoes and feta. Then cook and drain the pasta and combine everything, adding some snipped basil at the end. Dinneer can be ready in 10-15 minutes.
But getting back to moussaka, today’s recipe makes about six portions, depending on the appetites of those at your table. If there will be fewer people, not to worry. You can cut the baked moussaka into individual portions and freeze them. Allow to defrost before reheating, and voilà — you’re back in Greece.
Happy cooking.
