Moussaka – Recipe

serves: 6
difficulty: easy
total time: 1hr 50mins

Béchamel sauce:

– 500ml full-fat milk

– 4 sprigs fresh thyme

– 1 sprig fresh rosemary

– 1 bay leaf

– half an onion

– 60g butter

– 30g cake flour

– salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

– 10ml ground nutmeg

Other ingredients:

– 60ml olive oil

– 1 onion, finely chopped

– 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

– 500g beef or lamb mince

– 125ml white wine

– 1x410g can Italian peeled tomatoes, blended

– 45ml chopped parsley

– salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

– 1 large potato, peeled, sliced and fried

– 2 aubergines, sliced and lightly fried

– 60g fresh breadcrumbs

For the sauce, heat the milk, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and onion in a small saucepan until warm but not boiling. Remove from the heat and set aside to infuse for 20 minutes. Strain, discarding the solids. Melt the butter in a pot and stir in the flour to make a paste. Slowly add the infused milk, stirring continuously until smooth and thick. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and set aside. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion and garlic for a minute. Add the mince and brown for 2-3 minutes on high. Stir in the wine, tomatoes and parsley and season. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Arrange the fried potato rounds in a baking dish and season. Spoon over the mince mixture and cover with a layer of aubergines. Pour over the béchamel sauce and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake for 30-40 minutes.