Monday

A Twist on Moussaka ~ Greece Meets France!


Greece meets France in this twist I devised as a shortcut for
the Greek dish Moussaka, using what I had on hand 
(most noticeably not enough eggplant to make the traditional Greek version!)

Instead, with some odds and ends of fresh vegetables from the 
late harvest I made a batch of oven roasted Ratatouille, then proceeded
with an adaptation of Moussaka.


Ratatouille ~ deliciously French!

I don't really use an exact recipe for ratatouille and that's just 
what I love about dishes like this ~the option of adapting it to 
suit ones own taste (or according to what combinations 
of vegetables you happen to have.)



You see in the photo from back to front:
Red and Green Bell Peppers, Onion, whole garlic cloves and Zucchini,
Slender purple eggplant and ripe tomato chunks.


That being said, I prepare oven roasted Ratatouille 
much like this as found on about.com/French Food.

It's wonderful to have a bowl of this savory treat
in the fridge; good on toasted baguette slices, as a topping 
or base for scrambled or fried eggs, as a side
dish with fowl or meats, or main dish with grains, rice, or pasta.

 If it's not served warm, it's really best at room temperature
so take it out of the refrigerator about 45 minutes
to an hour before serving.


Moussaka ~ Delightfully Greek!

This time when making moussaka, instead of the usual eggplant 
(or combination of eggplant and potatoes) as the vegetable layers 
I used the ratatouille as the base layer, then a layer of spiced, sauteed minced lamb (you can use ground beef, or a mix of lamb and beef). I've seen
versions omitting the meat altogether.



Right out of the oven. 
(It serves more neatly if allowed to cool for 20 to 30 minutes.)


Over the meat another layer of the ratatouille, 
and finally topped with a layer Bechamel sauce 
( medium-thick white sauce) and a dusting of grated 
Parmesan cheese. The Parmesan cheese sprinkle on the 
Bechamel sauce develops an appetizing golden brown
while baking.

Keeper!! This can be assembled ahead and refrigerated
until baking time; and it reheats well, too.

Using the ratatouille for the veggie(s) may not be
"real" moussaka, but it is very, very good!


If you would like a recipe for authentic
Greek Moussaka, this one is a favorite. 
(I'm not sure I'll go back though!)


Thank you for stopping by today!

Blessings ~ m. xo



12 comments:

  1. Wish I could have dinner at your house Mari, you always come up with something amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, this looks and sounds amazing! Love that baking sheet of veggies ready to be roasted,

    ReplyDelete
  3. This definitely looks amazing- who says it all has to be eggplant! This totally works.

    Velva

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tout comme vous, souvent j'arrange et parfois j'améliore une recette... la vôtre me semble très appétissante même en cette heure (tôt)...
    Gros bisous et merci pour ce joli partage.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great new twist, I love Moussaka. I make a good one, but only Greek, now yours looks yummy!! Thanks for the recipe idea.
    FABBY

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a very good idea ! It will probably be on our repertoire soon..you just made me want to try it..
    WE are putting gardens to bed and a nest of underground yellow jackets stopped us in our tracks in that one bed:( Oy..the swarming was unbelievable...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Absolutely love Moussaka and this is a great twist. Looks wonderful, Mari!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you Thank you. I saw this yesterday and thought it looked delicious. My neighbor just shared another bag of produce from his garden complete with egg plant! I can't wait to try it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This sounds great, Mari. I LOVE ratatouille and could eat it with every meal. One of my favorites is having it over a fried egg.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sounds wonderful! Have just discovered your lovely blog, and am now following!
    Best,
    Anne

    ReplyDelete
  11. I randomly found from Aiken House and I saw the recipe for moussaka. Unfortunately I can not translate your recipe exactly, I guess you replaced the mince with chopped greens! From the appearance shows delicious and just as we cook it here. In my page I posted the recipe as we cook here . Very nice post!
    Have a nice weekend
    Olympia

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments, friends ~ they make my day!

A Sampling of my food . . .

Subscribe:

 Subscribe in a reader...or

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner