Moussaka

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Moussaka
A dish of Egyptian Greek moussaka
CourseMain course
Place of originEgypt, Greece, Middle East (cooked salad form), Levant
Region or stateThe Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean
Serving temperatureHot or cold
Main ingredientsEggplant or potatoes, minced meat
VariationsMultiple

Moussaka (/muːˈsɑːkə/, UK also /ˌmuːsəˈkɑː/, US also /ˌmuːsɑːˈkɑː/) is an eggplant (aubergine)- or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.

The modern Greek variant was created in the 1920s by Nikolaos Tselementes.[citation needed] Many versions have a top layer made of milk-based sauce thickened with egg (custard) or flour (béchamel sauce). In Greece, the dish is layered and typically served hot. Tselementes also proposed a vegan variant for orthodox fast days. Romania also has a vegan version that replaces meat with mushrooms or a mix of sautéed onions and rice.

The versions in

vegetarian as well as with meat; in all cases, the main ingredient is the fried eggplant. In Turkey, mussaka consists of thinly sliced and fried eggplant served in a tomato-based meat sauce, warm or at room temperature. In Saudi Arabia, muṣagga‘a is eaten hot, but in other Arab countries
, it is often eaten cold, but occasionally hot as well.

Names and etymology

The

Arabic muṣaqqa‘a (مصقعة, lit. 'pounded' or 'cold'). The word is first attested in English in 1862, written mùzàkkà.[1]

Preparation

Greece

Moussaka and Greek salad at a taverna in Greece

Most versions are based primarily on

aubergine (eggplant) and tomato, usually with minced meat, mostly lamb. The Greek version includes layers of meat and eggplant topped with a béchamel ("white") sauce
and baked.

The modern Greek version was created by the French-trained Greek chef Nikolaos Tselementes in the 1920s.[2][3] His recipe has three layers that are separately cooked before being combined for the final baking: a bottom layer of sliced eggplant sautéed in olive oil; a middle layer of ground lamb lightly cooked with chopped or puréed tomatoes, onion, garlic, and spices (cinnamon, allspice and black pepper); and a top layer of béchamel sauce or savoury custard.[4]

There are variations on this basic recipe, sometimes with no top sauce, sometimes with other vegetables. Such variants may include, in addition to the eggplant slices, sautéed

vegan) version in Tselementes' cookbook, which includes neither meat nor dairy products, just vegetables (ground eggplant is used instead of ground meat), tomato sauce, and bread crumbs.[4]

Another variant is (melitzanes) papoutsakia (μελιτζάνες) παπουτσάκια (lit. 'eggplant, little shoe style') which consists of whole small eggplants stuffed with ground meat and topped with béchamel and baked.

Other countries of Southeast Europe

Potato moussaka prepared in North Macedonia

In

former Yugoslavia,[7][8][9] and Romania, potatoes are used instead of eggplant, pork or beef mince, and the top layer is usually milk or yogurt mixed with raw eggs, sometimes with a small amount of flour added. There is also a three-layer version: the bottom layer consists of ground pork and beef, the middle layer of potato slices, and the top layer is typically a custard
. Each layer is cooked on its own and layered in a pan and baked until the top is browned.

Typically, the Romanian version is made with potatoes or eggplant or cabbage. The layers start with the vegetable, then the layer of meat (usually pork), then vegetables, until the pot is full. Sometimes bread crumbs are used as a topping, sometimes slices of tomatoes and crushed cheese. The pot is then filled with tomato sauce. There is also a pasta variant, with pasta being used instead of vegetables. The "fasting" variant, which is

vegan
, replaces meat with mushrooms or a mix of sautéed onions and rice.

In the rest of the Balkans, the top layer is often a custard: this is the version introduced in the UK by Elizabeth David's Mediterranean Cookery and where it remains the usual presentation. Grated cheese or bread crumbs are often sprinkled on top.[citation needed]

Levant

In the

mezze
dish, or hot.

Egypt

The Egyptian version of moussaka is made from layers of fried eggplant immersed in tomato sauce and then baked. A layer of seasoned cooked ground beef is usually added between the eggplant before baking. The dish can be served hot but is usually chilled for a day or so to improve the taste.

Turkey

pilav
in Turkey

cacık. There are also variants with zucchini
(courgettes, kabak musakka), carrots (havuç musakka) and potatoes (patates musakka).

See also

References

  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary 3rd ed., March 2003 s.v. (subscription)
  2. ^ Aglaia Kremezi, "Nikolas Tselementes", Cooks and Other People, Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, p. 167: "before Tselementes there was no moussaka, as we know it today"
  3. ^ Kremezi, Aglaia (13 July 2010). "'Classic' Greek Cuisine: Not So Classic". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  4. ^ a b Νικόλαος Τσελεμεντές, Οδηγός μαγειρικής και ζαχαροπλαστικής, 1930
  5. ISBN 978-1-57356-345-1
    .
  6. ISBN 978-0-9822619-9-6
    .
  7. ISBN 978-1-4556-0057-1
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0-7818-1203-0
    .
  9. ISBN 978-1-4761-4462-7
    .
  10. ISBN 978-0-313-37626-9
    .
  11. ^ "Patlıcan musakka tarifi (Musakka nasıl yapılır?)". MİLLİYET HABER – TÜRKİYE'NİN HABER SİTESİ. Retrieved 2018-04-24.

External links

  • Media related to Musaka at Wikimedia Commons
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