Moussaka - the heart of Greek cuisine, baked in one pan

On the islands, moussaka is almost like our Sunday pie: it brings the family together, fills the house with the aromas of cinnamon and tomatoes, and lingers in the memory for a long time. Its taste is like an open window on the coast, where the wind brings the smell of fried eggplant, homemade sauce and freshly whipped béchamel.

This is not just a casserole. This is Greece in a spoon . Tart, spicy, tender. And, like everything important, made with patience.

🫒 What you will need:

• 2 large eggplants

• Salt, Yaya's olive oil

• 450 g minced meat (beef or lamb)

• 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic

• 400 g tomatoes + 2 tbsp tomato paste

• A little red wine (optional)

• Oregano, cinnamon, pepper, salt

Bechamel:

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 30 g flour

• 500 ml milk

• 2 eggs

• Nutmeg, salt

🔥 How to cook:

1. Cut the eggplants into slices, add salt and leave for 30 minutes.

2. Rinse, dry, bake until soft (200°C, ~25 min).

3. Prepare the meat sauce with tomatoes, wine, oregano and cinnamon – simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Separately, cook the béchamel until thick, add tempered eggs.

5. We assemble in layers: eggplants → meat sauce → eggplants → meat sauce → béchamel.

6. Bake for 45–60 minutes at 190°C until golden brown.

💛 Moussaka is like a Greek novel without words. Warm, complex, but absolutely homely. Its taste unfolds slowly - like an evening conversation on the veranda, under the soft light of a lamp and with an olive tree in the window.

And if you want to add a real island taste to it, we prepare it with extra virgin olive oil . Oil from a Greek farm where everything is real: the land, the people and the taste.