and now for something completely different

[threeplusfire]

I have an eggplant. I really want to attempt to make moussaka. However I have never made this dish before. But I should try anyway, right? It is essentially a fancy casserole. I love moussaka.

So I'm reading recipes and trying to figure out what I need to get from the store. If you have made moussaka/have a favorite recipe/have advice, it is welcome.

Comments

[egosumquisum.livejournal.com]

Hmm, all the moussaka I've ever had in Greek restaurants seems to taste pretty savory, but your recipe has a lot of cinnamon/nutmeg/cloves, etc which I don't recall ever tasting in moussaka and which are generally associated with "sweet" dessert type foods. Do most moussakas actually do contain these "non-savory" spices and I'm just not tasting them, or is your recipe somehow different?

[lolliejean.livejournal.com]

Most of the recipes I read have some version of those kind of spices in there. The taste is very subtle though, not sweet, once it's all put together.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Most of the recipes I've looked up call for cinnamon.

There was a version of moussaka served at the Indiana Jones Drafthouse show that was amazing, and had a very pronounced cinnamon flavor. It was not sweet though. The cinnamon and lamb combination was like velvet, if velvet was a tasty food.

[egosumquisum.livejournal.com]

Ew. I'm one of those people who cannot stand the mixing sweet and savory and I very much want my moussaka to taste more like a savory eggplant casserole and less like apple pie. I must admit though that the only places Ive had moussaka are at Tino's and Athenian Grill, and at both places I couldn't taste any kind of cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

I suppose as one progresses more easterly through Turkey and beyond, the spicing becomes more prominent?

It is interesting though, because I don't feel like cinnamon itself is sweet. Or nutmeg. I used nutmeg in a lot of things I make with ground meat because I like the flavor but it doesn't seem sweet to me. Though I have to admit I've never eaten much apple pie so my taste memory and experience may be different.