Moussaka in a slow cooker

Moussaka, which is a layered vegetable casserole, most often with minced meat, under creamy or similar sauce, is a traditional dish among the peoples of the Balkans and the Middle East. Most housewives prepare it in several stages: first they fry the vegetables and minced meat in a pan, then collect the casserole, prepare the sauce, pour it in, and finally bake the moussaka in the oven. However, modern kitchen appliances can greatly simplify the task. Moussaka in a slow cooker turns out to be just as tasty and appetizing as cooked in the traditional way, while cooking takes up much less time and effort from the hostess.

Cooking Features

Moussaka doesn’t cook quite like a regular vegetable casserole. The technology of its preparation in a slow cooker also has a number of features that must be considered when cooking.

Most often, eggplants are a part of the musak. Before using them for cooking, it is necessary to remove solanine from them, which not only gives the “blue” bitterness, but is also harmful to the body. It is easy to get rid of solanine - it is enough to hold peeled or chopped eggplants for 20 minutes in brine. To prepare the solution of the optimal concentration, add a teaspoon of salt (with a slide) per liter of water. After extraction from the solution, the eggplants are washed thoroughly so that they are not over-salted. After that, it remains to dry the "blue" paper towel and use to prepare the dish.
Vegetables for moussaka are usually cut into plates with a thickness of about 5 mm. In this case, it is desirable to cut the potatoes thinner, and the plates of eggplants or zucchini, on the contrary, to make wider. For cabbage, pepper or onions you can cut into cubes and straws for musaka.
Usually, vegetables and minced meat intended for preparing the musaks are pre-fried. This is done in order to reduce the cooking time in the oven. If this is not done, the casserole can be burnt before it is baked. When cooking moussa in a slow cooker, there is no such danger. Therefore, this stage, if desired, can be skipped by increasing the main cooking time. In this case, moussaka get diet.
There are options when the moussaka is cooked without meat, but more often it still includes minced meat. The taste of the prepared dish essentially depends on its quality. For this reason, it is advisable to cook the meat yourself from meat, which you are sure of. Purchased product may disappoint you.
For the preparation of minced meat for moussaka, lamb is most often used, less often - beef, in some cases they include minced poultry meat, but pork is usually not included in the musaka recipe.

Since moussaka is popular in many different countries, its single recipe does not exist, and the technology of cooking a dish can greatly depend on a particular recipe. For this reason, it is advisable to read the instructions accompanying the recipe carefully.

Moussaka in Greek in a multicooker

Composition:

eggplants - 0, 6 kg;
lamb - 0, 6 kg;
onions - 100 g;
tomatoes - 0, 3 kg;
garlic - 3 cloves;
olive oil - 50 ml;
dry red wine - 50 ml;
cheese - 100 g;
dried mint - 10 g;
oregano - 5 g;
dried dill - 10 g;
flour - 40 g;
butter - 40 g;
milk - 0, 2 l;
salt, red pepper - to taste.

Method of preparation:

Peel the eggplants. Cut them into circles approximately 7-8 mm wide. Make a saline solution, dissolving 10 g of salt in a liter of water, dip the eggplant slices into it.
After 20 minutes, remove the eggplants from the solution and rinse well in running water. Blot the eggplants with paper napkins.
Wash the lamb, dry it with a kitchen towel, cut it into large pieces and roll through the meat grinder.
Add salt, pepper, aromatic seasonings to the mince, mix.
Finely chop the peeled onion, mix with minced meat.
Squeeze the minced garlic, mix.
Slice the tomatoes crosswise on the side opposite the stem. Dip in boiling water and blanch for a couple of minutes. Put it in cold water by removing a bobbin with a slotted spoon. After a few minutes, remove the cooled tomatoes from cold water and peel. Chop the tomato pulp in any way convenient for you: it can be broken with a blender, rubbed through a sieve, and grated on a grater with large holes.
Place the mince in the bowl of the multicooker, having previously poured in half of the olive oil prescribed in the recipe. Turn on the unit by selecting the “Frying” program. Not all devices have such a program. In this case, it can be replaced by the “Baking” program. Fry the minced meat using one of the above programs for 15 minutes. Add tomato paste and wine to it, continue cooking with this program for another 15 minutes. Take the mince from the multicooker bowl.
Place the eggplants at the bottom of the multicooker, smearing it with the previously obtained vegetable oil. Activate the “Baking” program by setting the timer to 1 hour.
Immediately start cooking the sauce. To do this, melt butter in a pan and put flour in it. Beat the milk with a whisk. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly. If desired, you can use a ready-made bechamel sauce in the amount of 200-250 ml.
15 minutes after the start of cooking in a crock-pot of eggplants, put mince on top of them and pour over the sauce. Keep cooking in the same way.
10 minutes before the end of the program, open the slow cooker and sprinkle grated cheese on the grate. If your multicooker can work without a cover, you can not lower it. If this is not possible for your device, lower the lid and wait until the program has completed its work.

In a number of multicookers there is a “Multipovar” program. To make a casserole at the second stage, it can be used instead of the “Baking” program.

Moussaka in Bulgarian in a slow cooker

Composition:

potatoes - 1 kg;
ground beef - 0, 5 kg;
tomatoes - 0.5 kg;
onions - 100 g;
garlic - 4 cloves;
hot water - 0, 25 l;
vegetable oil - 50 ml;
thyme - 5 g;
paprika - 5 g;
savory - 5 g;
sour cream - 0, 2 l;
chicken egg - 2 pcs .;
soda - a pinch;
salt - to taste.

Method of preparation:

Peel the potatoes, cut them into thin slices.
Cut the tomatoes into small cubes. It is better to clean them beforehand, but this is not necessary.
Peel the onion, cut it into small pieces.
Chop the garlic thoroughly with a knife.
Pour oil on the bottom of the multicooker, place the onion in it. Start the unit in cooking or baking mode. After 5 minutes, add mince to the onion and continue cooking, without changing the mode, for another 10 minutes.
Add seasonings, tomatoes and garlic to mince. Continue cooking using the same program for another 10 minutes.
Put slices of potatoes on mince, salt and season to taste, pour in water and change the mode by selecting the “Quenching” program. Cook in this mode for 40 minutes.
Beat the eggs.
Mix sour cream with soda, let stand 5 minutes.
Combine sour cream with eggs and pour the casserole over the mixture.
Turn Baking on for 30 minutes.