| Moussaka should be baked in the oven. Use a
roasting container, eitber square or oblong, approximately 25x25 cm or 39x28 cm.
It is recommended that you spread the work involved over two days for your
convinience; one can easily cook the meat the day before, witbout the
Moussaka suffering at all. Do not do the same with the aubergines; they
should be fried on the day.
Aubergines
Top and tail the aubergines, without peeling them. Rinse
them, cut them lengthways in 75-mm thick slices and immerse them in salted
water, for 30 minutes.Take them out, squeeze gently, rinse, then squeeze them
again. Drain them in a colander and pat dry. Fry them in hot vegetable oil until
they become pale golden on both sides; you can either deep-fry them, which is
easier but they absorb a lot of oil, or shallow-fry them. In either case, drain
them on absorbent paper on a flat platter before serving, so that most of their
oil will dribble away.
Meat
Sautee the sliced onion in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, until
it looks glistening. Add the meat and sautee together, stirring, until all the
lumps are broken down and the meat starts to change colour. Pour in the wine,
add tomatoes, sliced finely, the spices, salt and pepper and the oregano. Cover
and cook for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time in case it sticks. Then mix
in the grated cheese and parsley.
Bechamel Sauce
Melt the butter and, away from the heat, gradually
add the flour and stir to amalgamate. Return to the heat and gradually add the
milk and seasoning, stirring continuously. Simmer for 9-10 minutes, stirring,
until it has thickened considerably. Withdraw the pan from the heat, let it
stand briefly, then add the cheese and the egg yolks. Stir to amalgamate them.
Do not let the sauce boil after this. It should by now be a thick bechamel, to
enable it to sit on top of the meat mixture and form a kind of crust.
To assemble, cover the base of the roasting dish with half of the
fried aubergines, then spread half of the meat mixture evenly on top of them and
cover neatly with the remaining aubergines. Spread the remaining meat and sauce
evenly over the top and cover neatly with the bechamel sauce. Sprinkle the
grated cheese all over the top, and the breadcrumbs. Moussaka from
Macedonia may contain a layer of thinly sliced roun potatoes which have been
fried first. Bake in a pre-heated oven, gas no.4/ 350 grades F/ 180 grades C,
for 1 hour, untit a golden crust is formed all over the top. Let it stand for 5
minutes before serving, in order to be able to cut it more easily. To serve, cut
into square or oblong-shaped pieces, about 8 cm thick. It should be quite dry by
then and the pieces should ideally stay intact. |
