Moussaka - Naturally Gluten Free

Think of Moussaka as a Gluten Free Greek Lasagna.  So Delicious.

Moussaka

I learned the recipe while traveling through Corfu, Greece.  It was part of an excursion that included a meal and a cooking lesson.  What could be better than that?  The gentleman who taught me how to do this has a restaurant in the middle of his olive orchard.  This recipe couldn't be more authentic.  It looks labor intensive but no more so than a solid lasagna.  It also give you an excuse to fire up the grill for some tasty eggplant to add to the dish.  The only gluten in the original recipe came  in the bechamel sauce.  A simple gluten free flour sub and you keep right on cooking.

Beef Sauce Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb ground beef (I use laura's lean)
1 1/2 onions diced ( I like small vidalias)
2-3 cloves of garlic cut in thin slices
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1-2 ripe tomatoes crushed
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups of water
2-3 tbsp of tomato paste
fresh parsley
fresh dill
salt and pepper
1-2 eggs (1 large or 2 small)
2 tbsp of grated parmigiano and reggiano cheese

Preparation

Let's get this sauce on to simmer.  The longer it simmers the better the flavor.  You can make this hours in advance.  Heat the olive oil in a large pot.  Saute´ the diced onions until soft.  Add the ground beef, the garlic, bay leaf and cinnamon stick.  Once the ground beef has browned, add the white wine, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, and let simmer to thicken, stirring occasionally.  Once the beef sauce is very thick and just before you want to build your Moussaka,  add fresh parsley, dill, salt and pepper to your taste. 

**** When the sauce is just about to be layered into the dish, remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaf, add the eggs and the cheese and stir it well****

Bechamel Sauce

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups bob's red mill gluten free all purpose flour (I hear masa harina works well too.)
21 ounces warmed milk (I use unsweeted almond milk.)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preparation

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Once melted, add gluten free flour and allow to brown while continuously stirring.  Once the flour has browned gradually whisk in the warm milk.  Continue to whisk without stopping until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.  Add nutmeg.  Let cool slightly and then add the eggs one at a time while continuing to stir.

Layering ingredients

6 ounces of grated white cheeses (Gouda, Edam, Gruyere)
2 eggplants sliced and grilled
2 large potatoes peeled, sliced and pan fried (I fry them in half an inch of olive oil)
(after frying the potatoes, lay them flat on paper towels so the excess oil drains.)

Layering the Moussaka

Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

In a lightly oiled baking pan, arrange half of the grilled eggplant slices on the bottom of the pan.  Lay half of the fried potato slices over the eggplant.  Spread half of the beef sauce over the layer.  Arrange another layer of eggplant, potato and beef sauce.  Sprinkle half the cheese on top of that layer.  Add all of the bechamel sauce as the final layer.  Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and place in the oven.

Cook at 350º for 20-25 minutes until hot and bubbling around the edges and the top is golden.

Serve with a lovely Greek salad, some Greek red table wine and a little chilled ouzo if you're feeling adventurous.