Moussaka is probably the most famous of all Greek casseroles. It is usually made with eggplants or zucchini, but this Potato Moussaka is made by layering thinly sliced potato chips with a meat filling, then topped off with scrambled eggs and baked to golden perfection.
This moussaka recipe is simpler then other ones because you don’t need to make bechamel sauce and you don’t need to boil or fry the potatoes. The secret is in slicing potatoes really thin using your food processor or mandolin slicer. In this way raw potatoes can be put straight into a baking pan with other ingredients. My mother came up with this idea years ago and that is the way I’m making it, too.
I like the top layer of potatoes to be crunchy, so I bake the moussaka uncovered. If you prefer softer potatoes, then cover the moussaka with aluminum foil for the first 30 minutes of baking.
- 2 lb potatoes 1 kg
- 1 lb ground beef 500 g
- 2 medium onions
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup rice
- 1 pint bouillion boiling, 2 cups; 1/2 liter
- salt pepper to taste
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
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In a hot pan, saute onions in oil until translucent. Add ground beef and fry until browned. Add garlic cloves and season with salt and pepper. (Don’t use too much salt because you will later add salty bouillion.)
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Using your mandolin slicer or a food processor, thinly slice peeled potatoes as if you were makin potato chips.
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Lightly oil a large baking pan, like 13×9 inch pan. Place a layer of potato slices on the bottom of the pan, season with salt and pepper, spread half of the meat mixture on top and evenly sprinkle with rice. Cover with another layer of potato slices, remaining meat mixture and rice. Finish with a layer of potatoes.
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Pour boiling bouillion over moussaka and place the pan in the oven. Bake at 375 F (175 C) for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are soft and rice is cooked through.
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Take the moussaka out of the oven, pour beaten eggs over the top of it and then return it to the oven. Bake for another 15 minutes or until eggs are set and golden. Serve with lettuce or other fresh salad.
Nice – Would love to see this submitted at Food Foto Gallery . com so I can share with all my foodie friends 🙂
CJ, Thanks for the invite! 🙂
When told to add the bouillon what kind of bouillon are we suppose to add chicken, beef.?
It doesn’t really matter. Any bouillon will do.
can you replace the beef with ground turkey or chicken?
I haven’t tried it yet, but I think you can.
I don’t get why the rice?
You have to use soup (bouillion, stock) to cook the meat and potatoes. The role of rice is to soak up the excess liquid in the end. The other reason is that is prevents ground meat to form large chunks.
Two pounds of potatoes sliced thin on a mandolin give you enough slices for three double layers. Seems like too much. Two cup bullion doesn’t give much depth in a 9 x 13 pan. Two large eggs is not enough to cover the entire top of a 9×13 pan. Meat layers seem rather skimpy with one lb. of ground beef..
That’s how I make moussaka for years. Maybe some day I’ll make a video and you’ll see it’s good.
Oh, I made it and it tasted very good. I just thought it should have had a bit more broth and a little more ground beef. Apparently, I sliced my potatoes much thinner than you do as I had plenty to double up each layer. I used the eggs on top, but probably won’t the next time. I didn’t feel they added much to the overall dish.
Since my potatoes are sliced very thinly too, they often overlap. So, you can have 2 or even 3 thin potato slices over each other in one layer.