Yes, shocking as it may sound I do cook. My sister said “eh dah manti bete3rafi ahoh” her exact words. For some reason I do not look like the cooking type. I do enjoy cooking I just hate doing the dishes later. Around the kitchen I follow no one’s rules, I just add stuff and hope it turns out great. El mohem, my poor husband loves el messa2a3a but because I didn’t like eggplants and had never actually tasted it, I just never made it. This ramadan I decided I could make him some. I checked out the recipes for information, bought eggplants, called my mom to ask her about it and entered the kitchen. He loved, and I loved it too.
My Moussaka
And because I am in a good mood here is my moussaka recipe for dummies (aka the easy way) this makes 3-4 servings.
Ingredients:
4 medium sized eggplants.
1/4 kg ground beeg
1 onion
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
4 tablespoons of olive oil (extra virgin olive oil)
Dried basil
2 handfulls of mozzarella cheese.
3 jalapeno peppers
1 green pepper
Spices: salt, pepper, ginger and cinnamon.
How-to
Mince the meat, in a saucepan add the ground beef and onions after you have peeled and diced them. Add some salt, pepper, half a teaspoon of ginger and a touch of cinnamon to the mix and wait till it all becomes brown and the meat is cooked. Turn the heat off and put it aside.
Peel the eggplants and slice them 1 cm thick. Brush the slices with olive oil and saute them in a frying pan until both sides have been browned.
In an oven dish layer half of the slices at the bottom of the dish. Add the minced meat as the second layer. Slice the jalapenos into little rings after you have removed the seeds. Sprinkle them on the meat. In another saucepan add the remaining olive oil, the tomato paste, basil and half a cup of water, lower the heat until it simmers. Add the sauce on the meat and cover with the remaining slices of eggplants. Add the mozzarella cheese and garnish with slices of green pepper.
Preheat the oven at 270 degrees and put the dish in. It takes around 30 minutes in the oven but that depends on the size of your dish and your oven, so check it after 20 minutes just in case.
Enjoy your meal!
