Moussaka

{{Infobox food

| name = Moussaka

| image = MussakasMeMelitsanesKePatates01.JPG

| image_size = 260px

| caption = A dish of Greek moussaka

| country = Egypt, Greece, Middle East (cooked salad form), Levant

| region = The Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean

| course = Main course

| served = Hot or cold

| main_ingredient = Eggplant or potatoes, minced meat

| variations = Multiple

}}

Moussaka ({{IPAc-en|m|uː|ˈ|s|ɑː|k|ə}}, {{IPAc-en|UKalso|ˌ|m|uː|s|ə|ˈ|k|ɑː}}, {{IPAc-en|USalso|ˌ|m|uː|s|ɑː|ˈ|k|ɑː}}; {{small|see below}}) is an eggplant (aubergine)- or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.

The modern Greek variant was created in the 1920s by Nikolaos Tselementes. Many versions have a top layer made of milk-based sauce thickened with egg (custard) or flour (béchamel sauce). In Greece, the dish is layered and typically served hot. Tselementes also proposed a vegan variant for orthodox fast days. Romania also has a vegan version that replaces meat with mushrooms or a mix of sautéed onions and rice.

The versions in Egypt, Turkey and the rest of the Middle East are quite different. In Egypt, mesaqa‘ah can be made vegan or vegetarian as well as with meat; in all cases, the main ingredient is the fried eggplant. In Turkey, mussaka consists of thinly sliced and fried eggplant served in a tomato-based meat sauce, warm or at room temperature. In Saudi Arabia, {{Transliteration|ar|muṣagga‘a}} is eaten hot, but in other Arab countries, it is often eaten cold, but occasionally hot as well.

Names and etymology

The English name for moussaka was borrowed from Greek {{Transliteration|el|mousakás}} ({{lang|el|μουσακάς}}) and from other Balkan languages, all borrowed from Ottoman Turkish, which in turn borrοwed it from Arabic {{Transliteration|ar|muṣaqqa‘a}} ({{lang|ar|مصقعة}}, {{literally|pounded|cold}}). The word is first attested in English in 1862, written mùzàkkà.Oxford English Dictionary 3rd ed., March 2003 [http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/122981 s.v.] (subscription)

Preparation

= Greece =

File:Moussaka and Greek Salad at a taverna in Greece.jpg in 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 eggplant 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.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"{{Cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/07/classic-greek-cuisine-not-so-classic/59600 |title='Classic' Greek Cuisine: Not So Classic |last=Kremezi |first=Aglaia |author-link=Aglaia Kremezi |date=13 July 2010 |website=The Atlantic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216231142/http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2010/07/classic-greek-cuisine-not-so-classic/59600 |archive-date=16 February 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=10 March 2017 }} His recipe has three layers that are separately cooked before being combined for the final baking: a bottom layer of sliced eggplant 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.Νικόλαος Τσελεμεντές, Οδηγός μαγειρικής και ζαχαροπλαστικής, 1930

There are variations on this basic recipe, sometimes with no top sauce, sometimes with other vegetables. Such variants may include, in addition to the eggplant 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 eggplant is used instead of ground meat), tomato sauce, and bread crumbs.

{{Anchor|papoutsakia}}Another variant is {{lang|el-Latn|(melitzánes) papoutsákia}} {{lang|el|(μελιτζάνες) παπουτσάκια}} ({{literally|eggplant, little shoe style}}) which consists of whole small eggplants stuffed with ground meat and topped with béchamel and baked.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

= Other countries of Southeast Europe =

File:Мусака од компири (cropped).jpg

In Albania,{{cite book|author=Mark Zanger|title=The American Ethnic Cookbook for Students|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JTBSpuCkl9AC&pg=PA9|date=January 2001|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57356-345-1|page=9}} Bulgaria,{{cite book|author1=Leslie Strnadel|author2=Patrick Erdley|title=Bulgaria (Other Places Travel Guide)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQ8vWih-rqwC&pg=PA55|date=January 2012|publisher=Other Places Publishing|isbn=978-0-9822619-9-6|page=55}} the former Yugoslavia,{{cite book|title=The Balkan Cookbook| date=1987 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iCU6lhHPjpoC|publisher=Pelican Publishing Company|isbn=978-1-4556-0057-1|page=121}}{{cite book|author1=Liliana Pavicic|author2=Gordana Pirker-Mosher|title=Best of Croatian Cooking|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-W2XYRYORFcC&pg=PA132|date=1 January 2007|publisher=Hippocrene Books|isbn=978-0-7818-1203-0|page=132}}{{cite book|author=Avani Burdett|title=Delicatessen Cookbook – Burdett's Delicatessen Recipes: How to make and sell Continental & World Cuisine foods|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p5nhpRfaDpIC&pg=PT113|publisher=Springwood emedia|isbn=978-1-4761-4462-7|page=113}} and Romania, potatoes are used instead of eggplant, 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 eggplant 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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

= Levant =

File:Moussaka_in_Jerusalem,_Israel.png moussaka served in a Sephardic/Mizrahi restaurant in Jerusalem]]

In the Levant, moussaka is a cooked dish made up primarily of tomatoes and eggplant, similar to Sicilian caponata, and may also include chickpeas. It may be served cold as a mezze dish, or hot.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

= Egypt =

The Egyptian version of moussaka, mesaqa‘ah, is made from layers of fried eggplant immersed in tomato sauce and then baked. A layer of seasoned cooked ground beef is usually added between the eggplant before baking. The dish can be served hot but is usually chilled for a day or so to improve the taste.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

= Turkey =

File:Musakka and pilav.jpg in Turkey]]

Turkish {{lang|tr|musakka}} is not layered.{{cite book|author=Ken Albala|title=Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NTo6c_PJWRgC&pg=PA307|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-37626-9|pages=307–}} Instead, thinly sliced eggplant is fried and served in tomato-based meat sauce seasoned with green peppers, garlic and onions.{{Cite web| title = Patlıcan musakka tarifi (Musakka nasıl yapılır?)| work = MİLLİYET HABER – TÜRKİYE'NİN HABER SİTESİ| access-date = 2018-04-24| url = http://www.milliyet.com.tr/patlican-musakka-tarifi-musakka-pembenar-detay-zeytinyaglilarsebzeler-2460233/}} It is generally eaten with {{lang|tr|pilav}} and {{lang|tr|cacık}}. There are also variants with zucchini (courgettes, {{lang|tr|kabak musakka}}), carrots ({{lang|tr|havuç musakka}}) and potatoes ({{lang|tr|patates musakka}}).{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}