In the 1950s, for many Americans, Italian food meant spaghetti and Greek food meant moussaka (pronounced moo-sah-KAH).  Today, we understand Italian food is amazingly diverse, but when it comes to the flavors of Greece, loads of people are stuck in a moussaka rut.

I've been regularly going to Greece for 25 years.  During all those years, in all the family homes where I've been welcomed, I've never been served moussaka.  I've had it in restaurants, but never in a private home.

Moussaka rarely appears in Greek-language regional cookbooks.  In the Mykonos cookbook, eggplants are cooked in a fire, served in tomato sauce, pickled, and paired with garlic sauce, but not made into moussaka.  The Limnos cookbook has eggplant imam and eggplant salad, the Naoussa book has eggplant rolls, the Cephalonia book has fried eggplant, and the southern Peloponnesus book has eggplant spoon sweets, but none include a moussaka recipe.  Cookbooks from Kimolos and Ithaca don't include recipes for eggplant in any form.

The Evia cookbook explains: "Moussaka and 'souvlaki' are the two most famous and preferred dishes of foreigner visitors in our country. … Moussaka is not one of the traditional delicacies of Evia…"

Moussaka does make an appearance in books describing the cuisine of Greeks from Constantinople (Istanbul).  However, these recipes bear little resemblance to the moussaka eaten across America today; the Constantinople recipes don't ask cooks to smother moussaka with a thick layer of béchamel sauce.

Yes, moussaka is served in Greece, and yes, it is usually covered with béchamel, and yes, some of it is very good.  But it is not the alpha and omega of Greek cooking.

My goal as a food writer is to showcase the diversity of Greek cuisine.  As do other resourceful cooks around the world, Greeks use local foods to create recipes based on seasonally fresh ingredients.  These are the recipes set out in my cookbook, Tastes Like Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska, and in my blog of the same name.

I am not alone in my mission to change the perception of Greek cuisine.  A growing number of Greek restaurants around the world are offering inventive and traditional dishes that are helping break the moussaka stereotype.  This is a very good thing for those of us who love the taste of Greek food in all its diverse glory.  

Even so, moussaka is a beloved dish, and I am often asked for the recipe.  It is one of the most popular dishes served at Anchorage's annual Greek Festival, and it always sells out quickly.  When I started working on the cookbook that became Tastes Like Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska, a fund-raiser for Alaska's only Greek Orthodox Church, parishioners wanted to make sure I included the Festival moussaka recipe.  

To guarantee everyone can satisfy their moussaka fix, and read my future writings without wondering when a recipe for moussaka will appear, here is one of the best versions of moussaka I've ever tasted.  Kali Orexi (good appetite)!!

Baked Eggplant and Potatoes with Meat Sauce and Béchamel (Moussaka) - Anchorage Greek Festival Recipe

Excerpted from Tastes Like Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska © 2007 by Laurie Helen Constantino (used with permission).

Serves 8 - 12

Meat Sauce:  

• 2 pounds ground beef or lamb
• 3 1/2 - 4 cups diced yellow onion, 1/4" dice
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic
• 1 5-ounce can tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups red wine
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup Panko or dried bread crumbs
  

Vegetables:    

• 2 - 3 large eggplants, approximately 3 pounds

• Olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large baking potatoes

Béchamel:  

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 5 cups whole milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• Salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
• 1 cup freshly grated kefalotyri or parmesan cheese

Brown the meat, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, in a large pot.  Add the onions and continue browning.  When the onions have softened and begun to turn golden, add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Stir in the tomato paste, wine, salt, pepper, cinnamon sticks, and allspice, and cook for one hour, until the sauce is thick and rich.  Stir in the minced parsley and Panko or bread crumbs.  Taste and correct the seasoning as needed.

While the sauce is cooking, preheat the oven to 450°F.  Slice the eggplant lengthwise 1/2" thick.  Brush both sides of each eggplant slice with olive oil, and season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Bake eggplant slices for 15 - 20 minutes, turning them over after 10 minutes, or until the slices are golden brown.

Peel and slice the potatoes lengthwise 3/8" thick.  Brush both sides of each potato slice with olive oil, and season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Bake potato slices for 10 - 12 minutes in preheated 450°F oven until they are just tender.  The potatoes should not be cooked all the way through.

Warm the milk over low heat or in the microwave.  Melt the butter in a large saucepan, mix in the flour and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly.  Slowly stir in the warm milk and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thick and smooth.  Add the nutmeg, salt and white pepper to taste.  Quickly whisk one cup of hot milk sauce into the egg yolks, and stir the egg-milk mixture back into the sauce.  Cook over very low heat for two minutes, stirring constantly, being careful not to let the sauce get hotter than a low boil.  Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in 1/2 cup grated cheese.  Taste and correct the seasoning as needed.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

To assemble the Moussaka, lightly brush the sides and bottom of a 9" x 13" pan with olive oil.  Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom of the pan.  Spread half the meat sauce evenly over the potatoes, and sprinkle 1/4 cup grated cheese over the meat sauce.  Layer half the eggplant over the cheese.  Cover with the remaining meat sauce, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup more cheese.  Cover with the remaining eggplant.  

Pour as much béchamel as possible over the last layer of eggplant (the pan will be very full).  Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, or until the béchamel is puffed and golden brown.  Let cool for 15 - 25 minutes, cut into large squares, and serve.

About Laurie Helen Constantino

Laurie Helen Constantino and her husband have homes in Anchorage, Alaska, and on a rural Greek island. In both kitchens, the foods of the Mediterranean play a starring role. "Tastes Like Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska" is her first cookbook. All proceeds from the sale of Tastes Like Home go to the Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church Building Fund in Anchorage, Alaska.  For readers with questions about the cookbook or the Building Fund, please write to Laurie at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it and she will promptly respond.