Lamb, beef and olive moussaka
Ingredients
- 4 aubergines
- 1 onion
- 500 g fresh tomatoes (or 2 tins of peeled tomatoes in their own juice)
- 600 g minced meat ((300g lamb, 300g beef))
- 4 large potatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 c. à soupe Provençal olive oil – ripened olives PDO
- 1 c. à café Provençal herbs
- Salt, pepper, 1 bay leaf
- 100 g Nice olives PDO
- 600 g milk
- 50 g of flour
- 40 g olive oil from Provence – ripened olives PDO
- Salt
- Ground nutmeg
- 150 g Parmesan
Tip
Instructions
- Cut the aubergines into slices about 7 mm thick.
- Place them in a colander, sprinkle with fine salt and leave to drain for 1 hour. Use kitchen paper to remove any excess water from the aubergine slices.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Chop the onion fairly finely. Stone the Nice olives (PDO).
- Wash and chop the tomatoes (you can use tinned peeled tomatoes in their own juice).
Sauté the finely chopped onion in a large saucepan with a spoonful of Provençal olive oil – PDO ripened olives.
- When they start to brown, add the meat and fry it.
Add the tomatoes, the bay leaf, the pitted Nice olives (PDO) and the crushed garlic.
- In a bowl, mix 4 tablespoons of water, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of herbes de Provence.
- Arrange the aubergines on a baking tray, brush them with the prepared mixture using a pastry brush, and bake for about 20 minutes at 180°C.
- Meanwhile, peel and wash the potatoes, then slice them into strips about 7 to 8 mm thick.
Place the potatoes in a saucepan with salt, pepper, 1 crushed clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon of Provençal olive oil – PDO ripened olives – and ½ glass of water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Prepare the béchamel sauce: heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the flour, stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes over the heat, then gradually pour in the milk (to avoid lumps). Simmer, stirring, until the sauce thickens.
- Remove from the heat, then stir in the nutmeg and Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper.
- Assemble the moussaka like a lasagne: a layer of aubergine slices, a layer of potatoes, a layer of meat.
- Finish with a layer of aubergine slices and béchamel sauce.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the gratin is golden brown.
Tip
For this recipe, we recommend a PDO huile d'olive de Provence - olives maturées (traditional taste) – for its aromas of black olives, candied fruit, woodland and/or toast.
If you don’t have any, then opt for the PDO huile d'olive d'Aix-en-Provence – olives maturées, the PDO huile d'olive de la Vallée des Baux-de-Provence – olives maturées, or the PDO huile d'olive de Corse – Oliu di Corsica – récolte à l'ancienne.
For this recipe, PDO Nice olives are ideal, with their characteristic aromas of candied fruit (prunes, cherries), clafoutis, dried fruit, and notes of aged wine and leather. You could also opt for PDO olives de Nyons or PDO olives noires de la Vallée des Baux-de-Provence.
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