Moussakas (Greek Eggplant Casserole)

Ingredients:

• 
  Casserole:
  2-3 potatoes
• 2 eggplants
• 10 oz of ground beef
• 1 tomato or 2 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 onion
• Fresh herbs mix: mint, parsley, oregano (if you have)
• Olive oil
• Salt, ground black pepper
• 
  Bechamel Sauce:
  2 oz of butter
• 2 tbsp of allpurpose flour
• 1 pint of milk
• 2 eggs
• 6-7 cups of shredded cheese (I usually use mozzarella)

How to make, step-by-step:

1. Prepare ingredients:

   

2. Slice eggplants into circles about 1/3 of inch thick. Salt each eggplant piece from each side, put them to the plate and leave them rest for at least 20 minutes:

   

3. Skin potatoes, slice them into circles, salt and fry them over from both sides:

   

4. Put fried potatoes as a first layer to the casserole dish:

   

5. Skin and chop onion. Warm the frying pan with olive oil, add chopped onion and fry it over low heat till is soft:

   

6. Remove seeds from bell pepper, chop it and add to the pan with onion. Stir and fry both together for about 5 mins:

   

7. Increase heat under the frying pan, add ground beef and fry it over for 5 mins more:

   

8. Add chopped tomato (or 2 tbsp of tomato paste), salt and ground black pepper, mix everything:

   

9. Sautee meat with vegetables for about 15 minutes. At the end add chopped fresh herbs mix if you have them (I didn’t have herbs, so no greens on the photos). Pour meat and vegetables mix to the casserole dish above the potatoes:

   

10. Drain liquid from the eggplant pieces (you may also remove some salt with paper towel if you salted them a lot). Warm the frying pan with olive oil up and fry each piece of eggplant from both sizes until they all are ready:

    

11. Cover meat layer in you casserole dish with layer of fried eggplant pieces:

    

12. Now you need to prepare bechamel sauce, for that warm up a sauce pan and melt 2 oz of butter in it:

    

13. Add 2 tbsp of all purpose flour:

    

14. Whisk butter and flour together carefully, make sure the heat is low and flour isn’t burning:

    

15. Add all milk, cup by cup, carefully whisking it into the butter and flour mix. After all milk is added keep sauce on the burner and keep whisking till the sauce start getting thicker:

    

16. Then crack eggs and mix them in the separate bowl. Remove sauce from the burner and pour eggs into it:

    

17. Mix eggs into the sauce fast:

    

18. Add salt and whisk till eggs are mixed in:

    

19. Pour prepared sauce over the casserole:

    

20. Season with shredded cheese:

    

21. Put casserole into the oven (warm the oven up till 350F in advance) for period of time from 45 mins to an hour:

    

22. Take the casserole out of the oven and leave it for 20-30 minutes to settle, then cut it and serve as a main course ( tastes good with tzatziki sauce):