Moussaka

Versions of a baked aubergine and meat dish are found across the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, and the name has roots in Arabic. Many of these relatives are quite different from the Greek version — often served at room temperature, without any dairy topping.

The Greek moussaka familiar today, with its thick béchamel crown, was substantially shaped in the early twentieth century by Nikolaos Tselementes, an influential Greek chef and cookbook author trained in the French tradition. He was part of a movement to refine Greek cooking along French lines, and the addition of a French mother sauce is the clearest signature of that project.

The result is a genuinely hybrid creation: Ottoman and Levantine in ancestry, French in finish, and thoroughly Greek in identity.

Aubergines are sliced, salted to draw out moisture and bitterness, then fried or roasted. Roasting is now common and considerably lighter, since aubergine absorbs frying oil enthusiastically. Some versions add a layer of sliced potato at the base to give structure and soak up juices.

The meat layer is usually minced lamb cooked down with onion, garlic and tomato, and seasoned in a distinctly eastern Mediterranean register with cinnamon, allspice and sometimes a splash of red wine. It should be thick rather than soupy, or the finished dish will not hold together.

The béchamel is enriched with egg yolk and often cheese, which helps it set and brown into a firm golden layer rather than a sauce that runs when cut.

Moussaka is baked until the top is deeply coloured, and then — this is the step most often ignored — left to rest for a substantial time before cutting. A moussaka served straight from the oven will slump onto the plate.

Rested properly, it slices cleanly into distinct layers, which is the whole point of the construction. Many Greek cooks consider it better the following day, and it is as often a dish made in advance for a family gathering as it is à la carte restaurant food.