Moussaka

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Moussaka (Greek μουσακάς; Romanian musaca; Turkish musakka; South Slavic мусака/musaka; Armenian: Մուսակա; Arabic: musaqqaʿa) is a traditional aubergine (eggplant)-based dish in the Balkans and the Middle East, but most closely associated with Greece and Turkey. The word moussaka is from the Arabic musaqqaʿa "chilled"[1], but came into English via Greek. The Greek version, which is the best-known outside the region, consists of layers of ground (minced) lamb or beef, sliced aubergine, and tomato, topped with a white sauce and baked. Turkish Musakka, unlike the Greek version, is not layered. Instead, it is prepared with sautéed and fried aubergines, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and minced meat. It is eaten with Cacık and Pilav. There are also variants with zucchini, carrots and potatoes. In the Arab world, moussaka is a cooked salad made up primarily of tomatoes and aubergine, similar to Italian caponata, and is usually served cold as a mezze dish. The Macedonian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Bosnian, Montenegrin and Romanian versions are made with potatoes instead of aubergine. Despite its Arabic name, moussaka is usually thought of as a Greek dish in the West.

In the standard (3-layer) Greek recipe, the bottom layer consists of aubergine slices sautéed in olive oil; the middle layer is ground lamb precooked with onion, garlic, chopped tomatoes, herbs (bay leaf, oregano, thyme), and spices (cinnamon, allspice and black pepper); and the top layer is a cheese-flavoured béchamel sauce, or egg custard (probably introduced by Tselementes in the 1920s). The three layers are laid in a lightly buttered or oiled pan and baked until the top béchamel layer turns golden brown. No more baking is required as the bottom two layers are already almost cooked beforehand.

The butter in the béchamel can be omitted, used sparingly, or substituted by cream. In the rest of the Balkans, the top layer is often a custard; in England, in rare cases a layer of mashed potatoes is used instead. Grated cheese or bread crumbs are often sprinkled on top.

There are variations on this basic recipe, sometimes with no sauce, sometimes with other vegetables. The most common variant in Greece may include zucchini (US)/courgette (UK), part-fried potatoes or sautéed mushrooms in addition to the aubergine. There is even a fast-day version in the Greek cookbook by Tselementes which includes neither meat nor béchamel sauce, just vegetables (ground aubergine is used instead of ground meat), tomato sauce, and bread crumbs.

[edit] Trivia

A moussaka featured in the plot of the 2000 film The Attack of the Giant Mousaka by Greek director Panos Koutras
Moussaka was featured as a plot element in the Saturday Night Live skit 'Love-ahs' featuring Christopher Walken.