01 Mar Recipe of gratin musaka
Today we bring you one of the most famous recipes of Greek cuisine. Although it has certain similarities with the Italian lasagna in terms of its way of presenting it, it is a totally different elaboration. The musaka au gratin is made with eggplant, which will be the element that makes the structure between the different layers.
Ingredients (for 2 people):
- 2 eggplants
- 2 zucchini
- 1 potato
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the filling
- 400gr of minced beef
- 1/2 onion
- 120ml white wine
- 200gr Crushed natural tomato
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
For the bechamel
- 500ml of milk
- 35gr of flour
- 35gr of butter
- nutmeg
Preparation:
(Previous Advice)
Prepare the aubergines by cutting them into slices of about half a centimeter. and covering them with coarse salt. Place them on a colander and let them drain for half an hour to remove the bitterness. Then clean them with kitchen paper and set them aside
Step 1:
Peel and cut into thin slices the potato and zucchini and fry it with the eggplant in abundant oil at a not very high temperature, as we look for a smooth texture. Remove excess oil when removing them.
Step 2:
Prepare the bolognese by sautéing the chopped onion in very thin cubes and then adding the minced meat. When the meat is well done, pour a little white wine and let it be consumed. Finally, add tomato fried and integrate everything well, seasoning and adding also the cinnamon stick. Let it simmer about half an hour. Then remove the cinnamon stick and reserve.
Step 3:
To prepare the bechamel. Put the butter in a pan until it melts, and then add the flour. Let it cook and stir constantly until it has a slightly golden tone. At this time we begin to add the previously heated milk little by little, without stopping to stir until everything is integrated and without lumps, with a texture not very thick. Pour salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Step 4:
To mount our musaka, place a potato in the oven in a baking dish. Add the bolognese mixture on top and put the first layer of eggplant and zucchini on it and repeat the process until you finish with this layer as the last element. Pour the béchamel sauce on top and put the grated cheese on it. Bake it in the oven, previously preheated to 180 ° C for 45 minutes.