Pseudo Moussaka

Ingredients (4 portions)

• 500g minced meat (beef & pork)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Maggi seasoning
• 2 eggplants
• 3 medium white onions
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• dried thyme and oregano
• sour cream (for seasoning)
• fresh basil leaves (for garnish)

Procedure

1. Cut the eggplants into disks, about 5 mm thick. Chop the onions and peel the garlic.
2. Mix the meat with salt, pepper and Maggi seasoning, knead well to distribute the spices evenly.
3. Heat the Olive oil in a wok. Stir fry the meat under high heat until it’s brown.
4. Add the onion and stir fry until it’s translucent.
5. Add the eggplant disks.
6. Press garlic into the wok and stir fry for half a minute, don’t burn the garlic.
7. Add tomatoes, thyme and oregano. Mix well, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for at least 90 minutes, until the eggplant is really soft.
8. Serve with rice and sour cream, garnish with basil.

Tips

• A Turkish restaurant nearby serves this as “Moussaka”. It’s very different from a typical Greek moussaka, but we still liked it enough to reverse engineer it!
• When you add the eggplant, make sure to cover each slice in oil from both sides before adding the next. This way they won’t stick together. This is also the reason why you need that much oil.
• Seasoning and kneading the meat before frying makes sure it has a distinct, flavorful taste that contrasts a bit with the sauce and eggplant.

Καλή όρεξη & Afiyet olsun!