Wood-Fired Moussaka

<p style=”text-align: justify;”>Learn how to bake a traditional moussaka in your wood-fired oven with this tasty recipe. The aubergine slices are browned in the wood-fired oven for a lovely smoky flavour, whilst the lamb mince is slowly cooked in red wine, tomatoes, oregano and cinnamon. The dish is then baked with a thick cheesy bechamel sauce until golden brown.</p>

Preparation time

10 mins

Cooking time

60 mins

Serves

4 people

Ingredients

4tbsp of olive oil
500g lamb mince
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
150ml red wine
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 large aubergines, cut into 5mm slices
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the bechamel:
500ml whole milk
60g butter
60g plain flour
75g parmesan cheese
2 egg yolks
Whole nutmeg to grate

Method

Pre-heat your wood-fired oven to 180°C.
Place the aubergine slices on to some oiled baking sheets. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until soft and golden.
For the mince sauce, heat the olive oil in a large oven-proof casserole dish over a medium high heat and cook the onion until soft. Add the garlic, cinnamon, bay leaf and oregano and cook for a further couple of minutes, then stir in the lamb mince. Turn up the heat slightly up and brown the lamb mince well. Add the tomato puree and red wine and reduce the liquid by half. Add the chopped tomatoes and bring the sauce to a simmer, season with salt and pepper. Place the casserole dish in the wood-fired oven and cook for 30 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.
To make the bechamel, bring the milk to just below boiling point, and melt the butter in another saucepan. Stir the flour into the butter and cook for a couple of minutes, then gradually whisk in the hot milk. Cook until you have a thick sauce, then stir in the grated cheese until melted. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly, then beat in the egg yolks, salt to taste and grated nutmeg.
Arrange a third of the aubergines in the base of an oven dish, and top with half the meat. Repeat these layers, then finish off with a layer of aubergine, and top with the sauce and more grated cheese. Bake in the wood-fired oven for about 30 minutes until well browned, and then leave to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Wood-Fired Moussaka

Perfectionists in the Art of Wood-Fired Cooking.