This easy potato moussaka recipe brings a Greek recipe to Transylvanian cuisine combining Mediterranean flavours with Romanian ones. Compared to the best eggplant casserole recipe, I will make it from potatoes to which I will add minced pork and an impressive amount of tomato sauce. You will see how delicious it will be.
Table of Contents
My moussaka recipe is a layered dish made of layers of boiled and sliced potatoes, minced pork sautéed with a little onion and a tomato sauce, on top I will cover everything with grated cedar cheese. All combined with some local flavours will finally give a special taste to this dish, which I urge you to try with me.
Ingredients
For six servings I will use 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) of white potatoes (you can also use red potatoes), two medium-sized yellow onions and about 500 ml (2.1 cups) of tomato sauce (I used tomato passata).
I also used 900 g (2 lbs) of low fat minced pork because I like the meat in the dish to feel plentiful. I prefer to use pork in this dish instead of beef because the healthy fats in it will give a more pleasant aroma.
Preparing the Ingredients
Before proceeding to the assembly and baking of the preparation, we must prepare the ingredients and pre-cook them. In a pot, boil the potatoes in salted water, whole and unpeeled, and cook until the potatoes are soft but not crumbled, I boiled for about 40 minutes. After that, throw the water and let them cool separately so we can peel them.
Until the potatoes cool, cook the minced meat. For this, first, clean the onions and chop them finely.
In a frying pan, heat 50 ml of sunflower oil and then fry the chopped onion. Season with a teaspoon of sea salt and sauté the onion for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat until it softens and becomes translucent, without frying it too much, I do not want it to become crispy.
I am going to add the minced meat that we break with a wooden spoon and fry and stir it until it acquires a whitish colour.
I now add about 250 ml (1 cup) of tomato sauce and about 100 ml (0.4 cups) of warm water, mix a little and then season with a tablespoon of dried marjoram, a teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, half a teaspoon of sea salt and half a teaspoon of dried thyme.
Sautee the meat over medium heat for about 15 minutes, long enough in my opinion because it will cook in the oven anyway, so it will not be raw.
Let this sauté aside a little, to relax and absorb the liquid, during which time we peel the potatoes and after that, we can assemble the dish as I will show you in this easy potato moussaka recipe.
How to Make the Easy Potato Moussaka Recipe?
We need a baking form, I chose a heat-resistant glass dish for the oven, in which I will mount this moussaka. I will put two tablespoons of sunflower oil on the bottom of the pot and sprinkle a tablespoon of breadcrumbs.
Make the Layers
To avoid crushing the potatoes, I will not cut them first but slice them directly into the baking dish, so I will make the first level of half the amount of potatoes.
Season the potatoes with half a teaspoon of sea salt and then continue.
I will spread the minced sauteed meat evenly over the potatoes, I try not to add the excess fat from the pan, only the meat.
Over the meat, I will put a little of the tomato sauce, about 50 ml and I will spread it evenly over the meat.
The third level will be potatoes again, I will slice the other half of the remaining boiled potatoes and season them with half a teaspoon of sea salt.
I will pour the rest of the 200 ml (0.8 cups) of tomato sauce over the potatoes, which will penetrate the whole preparation, it will be given enough liquid to cook evenly.
And because for me there is no perfect moussaka without cheese on top, I will grate 40 g of cedar cheese and another 15 g of Grana Padano, together they will work wonders in this recipe.
Bake It
Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (392 F) and insert the baking dish for half an hour, until the cedar cheese will melt and acquire a beautiful copper colour.
How good it looks and what aroma it has! This was my easy potato moussaka recipe with pork and tomato sauce, let’s taste it!
Serving
My recommendation is to serve it hot, with fresh bread, possibly with pickles or beet salad and necessarily a glass of cold beer.
If you like this easy potato moussaka recipe and you want other potato recipes, let’s recommend some from our blog:
- Smoked Sausage Potato Soup
- Traditional Hungarian Goulash Recipe
- Best Simple Potato Salad Recipe
- Potatoes Stew With Smoked Sausage
- Best Cheesy Potato Casserole Recipe
- French Fries-Deep Fried Potato recipe
- Best Potato Salad-With Homemade Mayonnaise
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Easy Potato Moussaka Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg potatoes white
- 900 g pork mince low fat
- 2 pieces onions medium-size
- 500 ml tomato passata
- 50 ml sunflower oil
- 100 ml water warm
- 2.5 tsp sea salt kosher
- 1 tsp ground pepper freshly ground
- 1 tbsp marjoram dried
- ½ tbsp thyme dried
- ½ tbsp vegetable mix from soups
- 1 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 40 g cheddar grated
- 15 g Grana Padano or parmesan
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes in salted water, whole and unpeeled, and cook until the potatoes are soft but not crumbled, I boiled for about 40 minutes. After that, throw the water and let them cool, after that peel them.
- In a frying pan, heat 50 ml of sunflower oil and then fry the chopped onion. Season with a teaspoon of sea salt and sauté the onion for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat until it softens and becomes translucent. Add the minced meat that breaks with a wooden spoon and fry and mix it until it acquires a whitish colour.
- Add about 250 ml of tomato sauce and about 100 ml of warm water, mix a little and then season with dried marjoram, freshly ground pepper, half a teaspoon of sea salt and dried thyme. Sautee the meat over medium heat for about 15 minutes.
- Pour two tablespoons of sunflower oil on the bottom of the oven dish and sprinkle with a tablespoon of breadcrumbs. Slice the potatoes directly into the baking dish, so I will make the first level of half the amount of potatoes. Season the potatoes with half a teaspoon of sea salt and then continue.
- Spread all the minced sauteed meat evenly over the potatoes and add about 50 ml tomato sauce will spread it evenly over the meat.
- The third level will be potatoes again, slice the other half of the remaining boiled potatoes and season them with half a teaspoon of sea salt. Pour the rest of the 200 ml of tomato sauce over the potatoes and grate the cedar cheese and the Grana Padano on top.
- Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and insert the baking dish for half an hour, until the cedar cheese will melt and acquire a beautiful copper colour.
- Serve it hot, with fresh bread, possibly with pickles or beet salad and necessarily a glass of cold beer.