You Really Musaka'd It Up This Time
A tale of ruining one of my favorite meals and possibly drawing the wrath of my ancestors
Do me a favor, dear reader. Say a little prayer for me, would you? If it’s not your sort of thing, that’s ok. I just need all the positive cosmic energy I can muster.
You see, I screwed up a musaka.
If you’re used to seeing that spelled moussaka, you’re on the right track. That’s the Greek spelling for the traditional eggplant and meat casserole. It’s kind of like a lasagna.
In the Balkans, the dish is musaka, and eggplant isn’t the produce of choice. It’s potatoes.
Meat and potatoes, but make it lasagna. This dish speaks directly to my soul. It was one of my favorite things my nana made throughout my childhood.
Now here I am in my twenties, making musaka in my ongoing mission to share Nana’s food with the world—and I bungled it.
Not enough meat. Not enough of the yogurt topping to hold it all together. The potatoes weren’t cooked enough, because I was impatient and took it out of the oven too soon.
But I think my greatest sin was leaving out the rice. That’s how Nana made it. That’s how my family continues to make it. And I brazenly rejected it.
Ever since that awful musaka came out of the oven, I’ve felt I failed my ancestors. I am a disgrace to the family tree. Cut me off and throw me into the fire.
My nana was less dramatic than I am. I’ve written before that she was a remarkably kind person, and I’m pretty sure she would have laughed off my shame over a ruined musaka.
Still, for days it felt like there was a stern Serbian woman in the room with babushka and furrowed brow, channeling her disappointment through a withering stare. For reference, here’s a photo of my great-grandmother that hung in Nana’s house for decades.
I tried the musaka again with a few adjustments. Because I’m apparently a rebel, still no rice.
The second attempt came out gorgeous. Golden brown on top with layers of soft potatoes and savory meat underneath. The occasional bite of yogurt is a tangy surprise. Much better.
So much better that I feel confident sharing it with you.
Recipe: Serbian Musaka
Ingredients:
2.5 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes
2 lbs. ground meat
You can use whatever you like. I made mine with half beef, half pork. You can also use veal, lamb, or sausage, even turkey. If you choose a lean meat, you will also need a bit of cooking oil.
1 medium to large yellow onion
4-5 cloves garlic
2 TB paprika
2 tsp Vegeta
Vegeta is a seasoned salt used throughout the Balkan region. It’s made from dehydrated vegetables. Most eastern European grocery stores in the U.S. carry it. You could replace it with another seasoned salt or even a boullion cube. You’ll want to adjust the amounts based on the substitute you use.
2-3 stalks fresh dill
1c heavy cream or whole milk
1c Greek yogurt or sour cream
Salt & black pepper to taste
You will also need:
9x13 baking dish
A colander
A medium or large mixing bowl
Large skillet
Start by dicing the onion and mincing the garlic. Gently remove the feathery leaves from the dill and mince. Next, wash and peel the potatoes. Slice them thin, no more than a quarter inch. Set the potatoes in a colander and season liberally with salt and black pepper. Toss with your hands so all the slices are coated. Set aside in a place where the potato liquid can drain.
Meantime, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Again, if you have lean meats, you’ll need a little oil. Pour that in the skillet followed by the meat. Break it up and starting mixing together.
Once the meat is broken up and sizzling, add in the onions, garlic, paprika, Vegeta, and stir. Sprinkle in most of your fresh dill, but save the rest for later.
Stir until the meat is cooked through, or even almost cooked through. Some pink is ok because the meat will finish cooking in the oven.
Speaking of the oven, preheat it to 375°F.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together heavy cream, Greek yogurt, salt & pepper to make a thick, slightly frothy liquid.
Time to layer up. In a greased 9x13 baking dish, lay potato slices so they cover the bottom. Follow that with a layer of half the meat mixture (a little grease is ok, but if it feels like too much, drain it first). Then another layer of potato, then a layer with the rest of the meat. One more layer of potato for the top.
Slowly pour the yogurt mixture over everything. You should see it trickle down into the cracks of the musaka, becoming the “glue” that holds the casserole together. Spread the yogurt out to make sure everything is covered evenly. Sprinkle the rest of the dill on top and pop the musaka in the oven.
It can take between an hour and an hour and a half to bake the musaka. It depends on your oven. The thickness of the potato slices and the amount of grease from the meat play a role, too. I pulled my first musaka out of the oven after an hour and the potatoes weren’t totally done. The second, better musaka came out of the oven after an hour and 15 minutes. You’ll know it’s done by the amazing smell in your kitchen, and because the yogurt mixture on top will be golden brown.
Final Thoughts
I recommend serving musaka with a salad to balance out the heartiness of all that meat and potatoes. It’s is a great Sunday night dinner and of course, easy to customize to your tastes. My nana made with with 1/2 cup uncooked rice in the meat mixture. She would pour chicken or beef stock over the casserole and skip the yogurt, opting for an egg wash that got brushed on at the end of baking and broiled on high for a few minutes to get that golden brown crust. Some versions of this dish also call for more of a custard mixture on top with eggs, or a béchamel. Don’t like dill? Try it with oregano. The possibilities are endless. Enjoy and let me know how this recipe works for you!
I am sure it was still good without the rice! It is still one of my favorite recipes from Nana!