Beef Moussaka is a traditional recipe prepared with eggplants and ground beef, by creating a perfect combination. Eggplant is one of the most popular vegetables to eat during summer season. Combining this tasty and healthy vegetable with onion, tomatoes, green peppers, and groun beef, you can make a delicious meal for your lunch or dinner times.
Ingredients
Beef Moussaka requires you to have only few summer vegetables to make. You need medium sized eggplants, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, tomato paste, ground beef, and seasonings.
Eggplant: Eggplant is the main vegetable in this recipe. Fried eggplant can be a quite heavy food, and high in calories for absorbing the oil you fry them in. Frying the eggplants will make a huge difference in flavor, but if you want to keep the calories low, you can also send them in oven and then add into meat sauce.
Ground Beef: Ground beef goes very well with eggplant, so that it is used in this recipe. Having a low fat beef will be better, because eggplants are going to absorb oil, so we do not want to have very oily meal.
Onion, Tomatoes, and Green Peppers: These vegetables are fundemental for giving flavor to a dish, especially if that dish is including ground beef and/or eggplants. You should dice the onions into small pieces. Peel and dice the tomatoes, and slice the green peppers into small pieces.
Seasonings: Adding salt and black pepper will be enough for this recipe. But of course, you can add any spice or seasonings you like. You can add red pepper flakes if you like it spicy.
How to Make Beef Moussaka
Making Beef Moussaka may be a bit time consuming, if you are going to fry the eggplants, but we assure you that you will enjoy the result. Do not hesitate to try out this delicious recipe!
Firstly, start with preparing the eggplants. Peel them in stripes and cut them into rounds. Soak them in salted water and let them wait. You can place a plate over the eggplants to prevent them going to the surface of the salty water. This step is important to remove bitterness from the eggplants.
Afterwards, pat the eggplants dry and fry them in the large pan until golden brown. Transfer them to a large plate covered with a paper towel. Paper towel will absorb the excess oil from the eggplants.
While the eggplants are resting, keep up with preparing the meat sauce. Grab a large pan and heat olive oil over high heat. Start with cooking the onions first. When the onions are softened, add green peppers and keep cooking. Add the tomato paste, ground beef, tomatoes, and seasonings. Cook until meat is well-done.
Lastly, place the eggplants over the meat sauce and stir well gently with a wooden spoon to prevent eggplants from being smashed. Pour in a cup of water and let the Beef Moussaka simmer for about 15 minutes.
Serve it warm with Turkish White Rice, Bulgur Pilaf, and/or Balkan Salad Recipe. We believe that you will love this recipe! Until next time, keep coloring your plates!
Ingredients
- 4 medium eggplants, sliced into rounds
- 3 medium green peppers, sliced
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 2 medium tomatoes, peeled and diced
- 500 grams ground beef
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tesapoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup of olive oil (for frying eggplants)
- 1 cup of water
Instructions
- First, cut off the ends of the eggplants and peel them in stripes. Slice the eggplants into rounds and soak them in salted water to remove their bitterness.
- In a large pan, heat sunflower oil for frying. After soaking the eggplants, drain and dry them well using a salad spinner or paper towels. Fry the eggplant slices in the hot oil, turning them occasionally until they are golden brown.
- Remove the fried eggplants from the oil and place them in a separate pot. Let them rest until they release the excess oil.
- Heat olive oil in another large pan and add the chopped onions. Sauté until they soften. Then, add the chopped peppers and continue to sauté.
- Add the ground beef, tomato paste, salt, and black pepper to the onion and pepper mixture. Cook until the meat is well-done.
- Add the peeled and diced tomatoes to the meat mixture and cook until the tomatoes are fully cooked.
- Add the eggplants over meat mixture and stir well with a spoon.
- Add a cup of water to the pot and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. This will allow the flavors to blend and enhance the taste of the moussaka.
- The beef moussaka is ready. Serve hot. Enjoy your meal!
Notes
- Soak the sliced eggplants in salted water to remove bitterness. This step is crucial for a balanced flavor.
- Make sure the eggplants are thoroughly dried before frying to avoid splattering and to achieve a crisp texture.