Moussaka

Names and etymology

The English name for moussaka was borrowed from Greek el (μουσακάς) and from other Balkan languages, all borrowed from Ottoman Turkish, which in turn borrοwed it from Arabic ar (مصقعة, ). The word is first attested in English in 1862, written mùzàkkà.

Preparation

Greece

Most versions are based primarily on sautéed aubergine (eggplant) and tomato, usually with minced meat, mostly lamb. The Greek version includes layers of meat and aubergine topped with a béchamel ("white") sauce and baked.

The modern Greek version was created by the French-trained Greek chef Nikolaos Tselementes in the 1920s. His recipe has three layers that are separately cooked before being combined for the final baking: a bottom layer of sliced aubergine sautéed in olive oil; a middle layer of ground lamb lightly cooked with chopped or puréed tomatoes, onion, garlic, and spices (cinnamon, allspice and black pepper); and a top layer of béchamel sauce or savoury custard.

There are variations on this basic recipe, sometimes with no top sauce, sometimes with other vegetables. Such variants may include, in addition to the aubergine slices, sautéed zucchini (courgette) slices, part-fried potato slices, or sautéed mushrooms. There is a fast-day (vegan) version in Tselementes' cookbook, which includes neither meat nor dairy products, just vegetables (ground aubergine is used instead of ground meat), tomato sauce, and bread crumbs.

papoutsakiaAnother variant is (melitzánes) papoutsákia (μελιτζάνες) παπουτσάκια () which consists of whole small aubergines stuffed with ground meat and topped with béchamel and baked.

Other countries of Southeast Europe

In Albania, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia, and Romania, potatoes are used instead of aubergine, pork or beef mince, and the top layer is usually milk or yogurt mixed with raw eggs, sometimes with a small amount of flour added. There is also a three-layer version: the bottom layer consists of ground pork and beef, the middle layer of potato slices, and the top layer is typically a custard. Each layer is cooked on its own and layered in a pan and baked until the top is browned.

Typically, the Romanian version is made with potatoes or aubergine or cabbage. The layers start with the vegetable, then the layer of meat (usually pork), then vegetables, until the pot is full. Sometimes bread crumbs are used as a topping, sometimes slices of tomatoes and crushed cheese. The pot is then filled with tomato sauce. There is also a pasta variant, with pasta being used instead of vegetables. The "fasting" variant, which is vegan, replaces meat with mushrooms or a mix of sautéed onions and rice.

In the rest of the Balkans, the top layer is often a custard; this is the version introduced to the UK by Elizabeth David's Mediterranean Cookery and where it remains the usual presentation. Grated cheese or bread crumbs are often sprinkled on top. The potato version is also the most commonly used version in Norway, despite the most common of those potato versions (Toro) being incorrectly marketed as "Greek moussaka".

Levant

In Lebanon, moussaka is a cooked dish made up primarily of tomatoes and aubergine, similar to Sicilian caponata, and may also include chickpeas. It may be served cold as a mezze dish, or hot.

Egypt

The Egyptian version of moussaka, mesaqa‘ah, is made from layers of fried aubergine immersed in tomato sauce and then baked. A layer of seasoned cooked ground beef is usually added between the aubergine before baking. The dish can be served hot but is usually chilled for a day or so to improve the taste.

Turkey

Turkish musakka is not layered. Instead, thinly sliced aubergine is fried and served in tomato-based meat sauce seasoned with green peppers, garlic and onions. It is generally eaten with pilav and cacık. There are also variants with zucchini (courgettes, kabak musakka), carrots (havuç musakka) and potatoes (patates musakka).

References

References

1. ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' 3rd ed., March 2003 [http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/122981 ''s.v.''] (subscription)
2. Aglaia Kremezi, "Nikolas Tselementes", ''Cooks and Other People'', Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, [https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=lpOqTUucwhUC&printsec=frontcover&pg=GBS.PA167 p. 167]: "before Tselementes there was no ''moussaka'', as we know it today"
3. Kremezi, Aglaia. (13 July 2010). "'Classic' Greek Cuisine: Not So Classic".
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