Beef Moussaka Begins

Ingredients
Potatoes
4 white potatoes peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup olive oil (60 ml)
Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper

With the potatoes. I've preheated my oven to 375 F/190 C (170 fan)... now I am peeling the potatoes, soaking them in water, and cutting them into 1/4 inch slices then tossing them with 60 ml olive oil in a large bowl.

Next, I am arranging them on a single layer on a baking tray, seasoning with salt and pepper, and roasting them in the oven until soft and starting to brown, about 35 minutes.

With the potatoes roasting in the oven, I began making the béchamel:

Béchamel

1/3 cup unsalted butter (75 ml)

1/2 cup all purpose flour (125 ml)

3 cups milk (750 ml)

Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper

large pinch freshly grated nutmeg

3 eggs

Around this point, things began to get a bit chaotic, as I managed to overlook a part of one of the instructions giving cooking times for the sauce, so not much was documented from here! But anywho, I began making the béchamel by melting the butter in a sauce pot, adding in the flour, then stirring and cooking this roux for about three minutes, when I gradually whisked in the milk. 

After adding the milk, I kept whisking (furiously may I add, to try and keep the roux as smooth as possible) until it thickened and coated the back of a spoon. Then, I seasoned the roux with salt, pepper, and nutmeg before placing it to the side and letting it cool slightly before adding in the eggs one at a time. 

Satisified with the results, I covered it and put it to the side for later assembly.

With all the little elements prepared, I moved on to the main bulk of the dish - the meat sauce!

Beef

3 tablespoons olive oil (45 ml)

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (750 grams)

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup red wine (250 ml)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (2 ml)

2 teaspoons dried Greek oregano (10 ml)

1 teaspoon cinnamon (5 ml)

6 cups of canned plum tomatoes, drained and chopped (1500 ml)

1 tablespoon tomato paste (15 ml)

pinch of ground nutmeg

I began by heating oil in a large pot then adding the beef, cooking until brown, and breaking up chunks with a wooden spoon. As silly me forgot to chop the onions and garlic before, I rushed over to my worktable (just opposite the stove) and chopped and minced away, returning to the pot quickly to add the onions and garlic and cook until soft. 

Once soft, I poured in the red wine, cayenne, and oregano and let reduce for about ten minutes. During this time, I checked on my potatoes and pulled them out of the oven, placing them to the side. After a quick tidy and change myself (I was, after all, covered in every ingredient imaginable, especially the next one), I returned back to the meat sauce, reduced the heat to medium, and added the tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon, and nutmeg. With a swift stir, my sauce was complete! Now, all I had to do was cover it and let it simmer until it turned into a nice, thick sauce, about 45 minutes.

While the sauce was simmering, I sliced the eggplants into 1/4 inch slices, seasoned with salt and pepper, and fried them in batches (in a previously heated sauté pan), adding more oil when needed. When they were all golden and soft, I took them off the heat and put them to the side.

Eggplant

1/4 cup olive oil (60 ml)

2 large eggplants cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices

Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper

After frying the eggplant, I turned up the oven heat to 200 C/180 and tended to my sauce until it was ready for the moussaka. Then, with all the elements created... At last! The layering begins! My moussaka was spread between two dishes due to equipment availability and the fact that our oven is just a little bit too small.

And it went like this:

Potatoes - Aubergine (Eggplant) - Sauce - Potatoes - Aubergine - Sauce

Covered in Béchamel

Then into the oven for 45 minutes to an hour!