Turkish Moussaka originated during the Ottoman Empire, with roots tracing back to 13th century Arabic recipes. Contrary to the layered Greek version, traditional Turkish Moussaka is a stew-like dish of fried eggplants, minced meat, tomatoes, and garlic. Often served warm without the use of bechamel sauce.
Turkish Moussaka
Ingredients:
- 1 lbs of ground beef or lamb
- 2 tomatoes (grated)
- 1 small onion (diced)
- ½ red bell pepper (diced)
- ½ green bell pepper (diced)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 teaspoons of black pepper
- 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- Salt to taste
- Italian Parsley for garnish
- one eggplant
Instructions:
Eggplant
- Partially peel the eggplant in a striped pattern.
- Rub the eggplant with salt and let it sit for a few minutes to allow brown liquid to sweat out.
- Cut into disk and then (cut the disk in to quarters if the eggplant is large, if you’re using Japanese Eggplant, just cut into disk). Pat dry and set aside.
- In a pan, put enough oil that is deep enough for the eggplant to fry. Heat up the oil, cook eggplant in batches. Flip both sides until the eggplant becomes golden brown.
- Rest the fried eggplants on some paper towels to absorb the oil.
Moussaka
- In a pan, cook the ground beef until it is brown.
- Then add the diced onions, cook until it becomes tender.
- Add the diced bell peppers, crushed red pepper, minced garlic, black pepper and salt. Cook until everything is well mixed and fragrant.
- Add the grated tomatoes and mix in.
- In a separate saucepan, add two tablespoons of tomato paste (you can also add 1 tablespoon of Turkish pepper paste if you have it, but it is optional). Stir it around in the hot pan and then add 2 cups of water and salt to taste). Stir the water and tomato paste until it is well incorporated and let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
- In another pan, place the fried eggplants, then the meat sauce and lastly the tomato paste water. Cook for about 15-20 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped Italian parsley.