Greek eggplant dishes. Greek eggplants: recipes. Baking process and serving

Eggplant is a versatile vegetable from which you can make various salads, snacks, and even casseroles. In this article we will present you with several recipes for simple and affordable dishes based on the above-mentioned product.

Greek eggplants, moussaka and manzans - almost everyone can make such tasty and savory snacks on their own. But for this you will have to stock up not only with patience, but also with all the necessary components. We will tell you exactly which ones a little further.

Making classic eggplants in Greek style

The presented recipe is ideal for vegetable lovers. The method of preparing a delicious snack of eggplant with herbs and vegetables is available both at home and outdoors.

It is advisable to make eggplants in Greek during the harvest season. This is the only way you can save money and prepare a juicy snack without spending a lot of money.

Using young eggplants and fleshy tomatoes, you are sure to get a juicy and satisfying dish. It can be served as a main meal, or as a side dish or appetizer.

So how are eggplants prepared in Greek? Recipes for such a dish may involve the use of different components. However, the classic method of preparing it requires the use of:

• medium-sized young eggplant - 2 pcs.;
• large sweet onions - one head;
• large fleshy tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
• Unflavored olive oil - use according to your taste;
• white wheat flour - 1/3 cup;
• sea ​​salt, black pepper - use to your taste;
• fresh herbs - use at discretion.

Vegetable processing

Before making eggplants in Greek, all the vegetables listed above should be carefully processed.

Young eggplants are thoroughly washed, cut into circles about 5 mm thick, and then placed in a bowl and generously seasoned with salt. The product is left in this form for 10-20 minutes, after which it is thoroughly washed and dried. This is done so that the eggplants lose their inherent bitterness and become more tasty and tender.

As for onions and large tomatoes, they are also washed and chopped into small cubes.

Heat treatment process

You can prepare this snack in different ways. Some cooks prefer, but we decided to fry them in a frying pan. To do this, heat a saucepan with olive oil very high, and then lay out the eggplant slices one by one. To ensure that vegetables are evenly fried and become as appetizing as possible, it is recommended to first roll them in wheat flour.

Once the eggplants are browned, remove them and place them on a large plate. At this time, place the onions in a frying pan with the remaining oil and fry them until transparent. Next, add chopped tomatoes to it and immediately turn the heat to minimum. They should simmer in this for about 10 minutes until the sauce reaches the consistency it needs. It can be thick or liquid (as you wish).

In the process of stewing foods, pepper, salt and other spices must be added to them.

How to serve it for dinner?

To serve such a dish, fried eggplants are placed on a flat plate (in 1 or 2 layers), and tomato sauce with fried onions is placed on top. Finally, all the ingredients are sprinkled with plenty of fresh herbs. In this form, the delicious food is presented to the table along with a slice of bread.

Greek moussaka with eggplant: recipe

Moussaka is a traditional dish of the Middle East and Balkans. It consists of several layers: eggplant, lamb, tomatoes and bechamel sauce. Potatoes, zucchini and mushrooms are also often added to moussaka.

In Arab countries, this dish is served as a cold appetizer. However, you can also use it as a complete lunch.

What products should you stock up on to make a delicious and juicy Greek moussaka with eggplant? The recipe for this Mediterranean dish requires the use of:

• medium size potatoes - 3 pcs.;
• young eggplants, not very large - 2 pcs.;
• minced lamb (you can also use beef) - 300 g;
• fleshy tomatoes - 1 pc. (can be replaced with 2 large spoons of tomato paste);
• hard cheese - 200 g;
• sweet red pepper (Bulgarian) - 1 pc.;
• onion - 1 pc. into the minced meat and the same amount for filling;
• mixtures of fresh herbs - use according to your taste (mint, parsley, oregano, etc.);
• ready-made Bechamel sauce - 400 ml;
• olive oil without aroma - at discretion;
• sea ​​salt, allspice and other spices - use according to your taste.

Preparing the components

How to prepare Greek moussaka with eggplant? First, process all the vegetables. Wash the eggplants thoroughly and cut into slices 10 mm thick. Next, sprinkle them with salt, leave them aside for 20 minutes, wash them thoroughly and dry them.

In addition to eggplants, other components are also subjected to careful processing. The potatoes are peeled and cut into thin slices (no more than 5 mm). The bulbs are peeled and chopped into cubes. As for the sweet pepper, the seeds and stalk are removed from it, and then cut into small pieces.

Minced lamb is also prepared separately. It is salted, peppered, onion pulp is added and mixed thoroughly.

Frying ingredients

How should you cook in Greek? First you need to fry all the ingredients. To do this, heat a frying pan with vegetable oil and then place potato slices in it. Sprinkling them with a small amount of salt, the vegetables are fried on both sides until reddened. Next, the circles are carefully removed and placed in a deep heat-resistant form as the first layer.

After processing the potatoes, place the onions in the same frying pan and fry them until transparent. Then add pepper to it and cook for about 5 more minutes. Finally, add minced lamb and chopped tomatoes (tomato paste) into a saucepan.

After mixing the ingredients, salt and pepper them, then simmer under the lid for about ¼ hour. Next, add fresh herbs to the ingredients and place them on top of the potatoes.

Having placed two layers of moussaka in a heat-resistant form, you should begin preparing the third. Eggplants will serve as it. They are fried on both sides in a frying pan and then placed on top of the main dish.

Baking process and serving

How is the casserole prepared? Greek eggplant is poured with Bechamel sauce, sprinkled with grated cheese and immediately sent to the oven. At a temperature of 200 degrees, the dish is cooked for about 50 minutes.

After the specified time has passed, the moussaka is removed and left at room temperature for 20-40 minutes. Next, they cut it and present it to family members along with a piece of bread.

Making a delicious stuffed Manzana dish

"Manzans" - stuffed eggplants in Greek style. This dish is easy and simple to prepare. As a result, you will receive a very tasty and savory appetizer that can be safely served even for a festive feast.

So how to make Manzanas? Greek stuffed eggplants require the use of the following products:

Processing the ingredients

Before making Greek stuffed eggplants, the main vegetable should be thoroughly washed and then pierced with a toothpick in several places. Next, they are placed in a deep bowl, filled with water and salted.

Bringing the liquid to a boil, cook the eggplants for about five minutes. Then they are placed in a colander, an incision is made lengthwise, but not all the way, and placed under pressure. The vegetables are kept in this form until they have lost all moisture. In the meantime, they begin processing other products.

The carrots are peeled and grated onto the parsley and the garlic is finely chopped with a knife and then mixed with the carrots.

Form the dish and serve it to the table

After the eggplants have lost all their moisture, they are taken out from under pressure, salted a little inside and filled with the previously prepared vegetable mixture. Next, they are placed in an enamel saucepan and filled with cold boiled brine, which is made from the above components.

In this form, the dish is left in a warm, but not hot, room for two or three days. During this time it should sour a little.

After time, the finished eggplants are dipped into hot vegetable oil and immediately placed in small sterilized jars. In this case, the vegetables are compacted a little, but not crushed.

After adding oil to the neck, roll up the containers with boiled lids. In this form they are left at room temperature for 1 or 2 days. After this time, the tasty and aromatic snack is put away in the pantry or underground. You can use it after 1-2 weeks. Although some housewives prefer to save such yummy food until the onset of the winter season.

Greek stuffed eggplants should be eaten cold with a slice of bread. By the way, some chefs add this appetizer to various goulash and even soups.

Let's sum it up

Now you know how to use such a tasty and meaty vegetable as eggplant. In addition to the recipes described, this product is also used for preparing other snacks and dishes. For example, it makes eggplant caviar very tasty. To prepare it, vegetables are chopped in a meat grinder and boiled on the stove with the addition of various spices.

This Greek dish includes both a meat component and a side dish. It requires no additions and is surprisingly tasty. There are many recipes for Greek moussaka with eggplant, and any option will please the most demanding gourmet.

Moussaka is not a national Greek dish. It has an author, the famous Greek chef Nikos Tselemendis. He was a supporter of not only national, but also European cuisine, so the recipe he invented whimsically combines traditional Greek vegetables and lamb, and exquisite French bechamel.

Finger-licking delicious.

The recipe is only about a hundred years old, but moussaka is enjoyed in all countries. There are many options for preparing it with different ingredients, but it all started with classic Greek moussaka.

This dish cannot be called low-calorie or dietary, but how delicious it is! When preparing, do not spare spices and olive oil.

What is important is that according to the classic recipe, Greek moussaka is prepared only from lamb. Well, as a last resort - from beef.

Of course, you can take pork or chicken, but it won’t be the same.

Ingredients:

• 4 small eggplants with a total weight of about 700 g;
• already twisted minced meat - 0.5 kg;
• 2 onions;
• several ripe tomatoes with a total weight of about 300 g;
• hard cheese – 75 g;
• dry white wine 150 ml;
• olive oil – 2 tbsp. spoons.

Moussaka should be topped with sauce. For it you need to take:

• hard cheese – 150 g;
• 2 chicken eggs;
• 400 ml milk;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of flour;
• butter – 75 g.

We will season the sauce with a pinch of grated nutmeg, and the minced meat with dry herbs to suit your taste.

How to cook:

1. If the eggplants are bitter, cut them into rings without peeling them and sprinkle them with salt. In 20 minutes. washed and dried.
2. Tomatoes are peeled, for which they should first be scalded.
3. Fry the eggplant rings over high heat, adding oil. It usually takes 1 minute for them to brown.
4. Sauté the onion, cut into half rings, in oil until it becomes transparent. Add minced meat, knead and fry for 5 minutes. Season with herbs, add wine and simmer until all the liquid evaporates. At the end of stewing, add salt to taste.
5. Simmer the tomatoes, cut into circles.

Prepare the sauce separately:

• fry the flour in butter until golden brown;
• dilute with warm milk, adding it in portions and thoroughly kneading until smooth;
• heat until sour cream thickens, turn off the heat;
• lightly beaten eggs are mixed into the sauce so that they do not curdle;
• All that remains is finely grated cheese, add to the sauce, season with nutmeg and salt and mix well.

Next, cover the bottom of a tall baking dish with eggplants (take ½ part), place half the minced meat and cover with half the tomatoes. Lay out the products again in the same sequence, pour in the sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake the dish in a hot oven for about half an hour.

The liquid should evaporate completely, but the food should not be allowed to burn.

Before serving, allow the dish to steep for a quarter of an hour.

Cooking option with potatoes

The cooking technology is the same. If you add 300 g of sliced ​​potatoes to the ingredients specified in the previous recipe, the dish will have a different taste.

Potatoes must first be fried until half cooked or baked in the oven for 10 minutes. When forming a dish, it is placed in the first layer. The baking time for Greek moussaka with eggplant and potatoes will have to be extended a little, since potato slices take longer to cook than all the other ingredients.

With the addition of zucchini - step by step

Moussaka with zucchini is easy to prepare; they add a special taste and juiciness to the dish.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggplants;
• 1 zucchini squash;
• 1 onion;
• 5 tomatoes;
• 500 g of already rolled minced lamb or veal;
• 300 g hard cheese;
• 4 tbsp. spoons of flour;
• 2 glasses of milk;
• 70 g butter;
• 4 tbsp. spoons of olive oil.

The dish is seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.

How to cook:

1. Eggplants and zucchini cut into thin slices are sprinkled with salt.
2. After a quarter of an hour, wipe them of juice and lightly fry with the addition of olive oil.
3. Peeled tomatoes are chopped, as are onions.
4. Sauté onions in oil for 3-5 minutes.
5. Add minced meat to it, mix and bring until half cooked.
6. Add tomatoes to the semi-finished ingredients, season with spices and mix.
7. Fry the flour in butter for 3-4 minutes. The mixture should be homogeneous, without lumps.
8. Dilute it little by little with slightly warmed milk, achieving homogeneity after each serving.
9. Remove the sauce from the heat, then mix it with half the finely grated cheese.
10. Divide the zucchini and eggplants into 3 parts, and the minced meat in half.

Next, place a third of the eggplants and zucchini on the bottom of a deep baking dish, then half of the minced meat, which is sprinkled with half of the remaining cheese, again a third of the eggplants and zucchini, the remaining minced meat, cheese, and then the zucchini and eggplants on top. All. Pour the prepared bechamel over the moussaka and bake in a not too hot oven for about 40 minutes.

After baking, the moussaka should cool slightly before serving, so its taste will become brighter and richer, and it will not disintegrate when cut.

Vegetarian moussaka Greek style

This recipe is for those who do not eat meat in any form, but do not deny themselves eggs and milk. The dish is not similar to the classic Greek moussaka with minced meat, although it is prepared using the same technology. But that certainly doesn’t make it any less tasty.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-sized carrots and onions;
• a small celery root weighing 100 g;
• 5 potatoes;
• 0.5 kg asparagus green beans;
• 0.5 cups rice;
• 4 eggs;
• 2/3 cup milk;
• olive oil as needed.

In this recipe, the pouring sauce is made from a mixture of milk and eggs, but you can also make classic bechamel.

How to cook:

1. Grate carrots and celery, chop onion. Fry vegetables until soft.
2. Boil rice and beans until tender. We cut the last one into pieces.
3. Three boiled and peeled potatoes on a grater with large holes.
4. Make the sauce by mixing lightly beaten eggs with milk. You can add your favorite dried herbs to it.
5. Place the potatoes in a greased baking dish, first, and then the rest of the ingredients in layers.
6. Pour the sauce over everything and shake the pan so that it saturates each layer.

Vegetarian moussaka bakes in half the time of a traditional dish - only 20 minutes. in a hot oven at 200 degrees.

With eggplant and rice

There is very little rice in this dish, but it is it that absorbs the delicious juice that the meat and vegetables release.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggplants with a total weight of about 500 g;
• 100 g rice;
• 2 pcs. onions and large tomatoes;
• a couple of cloves of garlic;
• olive or vegetable oil - how much will be needed;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of flour and butter;
• 2 glasses of milk;
• 100 g hard cheese, ideally Parmesan;
• 500 g minced pork or mixed with beef;
• a pinch of grated nutmeg.

Salt and pepper are added to taste.

How to cook:

1. Peel the eggplants, cut them into lengthwise slices and soak for half an hour in well-salted water. Wash and dry on a napkin.
2. Fry on both sides until golden brown, but without drying out.
3. Cook the rice until almost done.
4. Fry finely chopped onion until golden brown, adding chopped garlic.
5. After adding the minced meat, fry a little more, add some salt and simmer with the addition of finely chopped tomatoes for 5-7 minutes.
6. For bechamel, mix flour with butter in a deep frying pan until smooth. You need to fry them for no more than 5 minutes.
7. Dilute the mixture with warm milk so that the sauce is homogeneous. To do this, you need to constantly stir it.
8. Season the bechamel with salt and nutmeg.
9. We “assemble” the moussaka: put rice on the bottom of the mold, which needs to be greased ahead of time, all the minced meat on it, which we then cover with eggplants.

All that remains is to pour bechamel over the moussaka and sprinkle with grated cheese. In a very hot oven, the dish is baked in 25 minutes. Ingredients:

• 2 small eggplants;
• bulb;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of sour cream, flour;
• 0.5 kg minced meat;
• 1 tbsp. a spoonful of tomato paste and butter;
• 2 eggs;
• 150 g hard cheese;
• clove of garlic.

Spices and salt to taste and desire. In a slow cooker, moussaka is prepared a little differently, but it still turns out very tasty.

How to cook:

1. Cut the eggplants into circles half a centimeter thick, without peeling them.
2. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for about half an hour. Wash and dry. In this case, there is no need to fry them.
3. Chop the garlic and onion, fry with a piece of butter in a multicooker bowl in the “Baking” mode until golden brown.
4. Add the minced meat, season with salt, pepper and spices, fry for another 20 minutes.
5. Stir with tomato paste and simmer for another 10 minutes.
6. Mix cheese, eggs and sour cream, add salt and gradually add flour, achieving homogeneity of the sauce.
7. Place eggplant slices on the minced meat, pour in the sauce and cook in the “Baking” mode for another third of an hour. We make sure that the “blue” vegetables brown.

Greek cuisine is an essential part of the Mediterranean diet. It is so unique that since 2010 it has been included in the UNESCO list as a cultural heritage of humanity.

The Greeks are cheerful, cheerful, full of energy until old age, no sclerosis, no heart disease, no obesity. And all this is facilitated by incredibly healthy food: fish, lamb, vegetables, cheeses, herbs and herbs, olive oil. Of course, Greek food is delicious, but for it to also be healthy, you need to learn how to cook it correctly.

Greek eggplants are included in the menu of famous restaurants in the best hotels in the world

In the first place in the national cuisine is moussaka - baked eggplants in Greek. The world-famous casserole is made from eggplants with the addition of potatoes. Layered vegetables are poured with bechamel sauce and baked.

The Greek eggplant dish also includes potatoes, minced lamb, feta cheese, onions, tomatoes, and herbs. Cut the eggplants and potatoes into slices, place all the ingredients in layers and bake with bechamel sauce.

For those who don't like lamb, you can make minced meat from a mixture of veal and pork or use minced poultry. Note that this dish is quite filling.

A more reasonable replacement for a meat dish containing a lot of fat would be vegetable moussaka - Greek-style eggplants, where bright, eye-catching vegetables are used instead of meat: zucchini and red bell peppers. Meat, as a necessary and important protein component, can be replaced in the Greek eggplant recipe with beans. Before placing the dish to bake, pour in a sauce made with yogurt.

Eggplants in Greek. Recipes for famous salads and appetizers

• – a popular eggplant salad with lemon and garlic in Greece. Usually served with pita bread, a savory bun. Fresh onions, garlic, herbs are added to the baked eggplants and seasoned with lemon juice and olive oil. This dish is a dietary dish, it is rich in vitamins, Omega 3 fats and low in calories.

• Greek fried eggplant appetizer– the dish is quite popular among us and is prepared quickly. It can be seasoned with herbs, sprinkled with feta or feta cheese, and you will get a savory dish. Fried eggplant slices are poured with fried onions and tomatoes, sprinkled with garlic, cheese and herbs. Served both hot as a side dish and chilled as an appetizer.

Preparing eggplants in Greek for the winter

We live in a region where, unfortunately, it is not always possible to buy fresh eggplants in winter. But our thrifty housewives have long learned to prepare eggplants for the winter. In order to prepare the above salads and snacks in winter, it is enough to make preparations in advance.

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Greek eggplants prepared according to this Mediterranean recipe always taste very interesting and serve as an excellent cold appetizer. For this dish, it is best to take young blue ones with a small amount of seeds inside. And you shouldn’t bake them for very long so that they don’t lose their shape and remain a little dense. Within a day, Greek eggplants taste wonderful, but if you are patient and let them marinate for a couple more days, they will become even tastier and more aromatic.

Ingredients:

• 3 - 4 small eggplants
• 2 - 3 tablespoons grape vinegar
• 2 - 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 small chili pepper
• 1 bell pepper
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 100 g olive oil
• salt, pepper to taste
• a handful of chopped greens
• sprig of basil

Cooking method

Cut the eggplants lengthwise into two parts, brush with a small amount of vegetable oil using a pastry brush and bake in the oven, this can be done on the grill mode. Finely chop the garlic, remove the seeds from the chili pepper and chop it finely, and do the same with the bell pepper. Then mix everything with olive oil and grape vinegar, salt, pepper and add basil. Pour the resulting marinade over the baked eggplants in Greek style (it is better to spread them in one layer), and let them marinate in the refrigerator for 1 - 2 days. Bon appetit.

A Greek winter appetizer made from eggplant will delight lovers of spicy pickled vegetables. In order for guests and family to enjoy these vegetables, you need to learn how to cook them correctly. A canned snack will fit perfectly into the cold season on the dinner table. It can also be served for a holiday, as a separate original salad. On various websites on the Internet you can watch video recipes about the rules for preparing this salad.

Greek eggplant for the winter is a truly royal recipe. Photos and videos can be viewed on the website. At first glance, it is very complex, but in fact it contains very simple products, and it is easy to prepare.

For one small jar you need to take two medium eggplants. Wash them, cut off stains, holes and imperfections on the skin. Vegetables must be fresh.

In addition to eggplant add:

1. One bell pepper;
2. Carrot;
3. Two onions;
4. 3-4 heads of garlic;
5. Bay leaf;
6. Peppercorns;
7. Vegetable oil 50 grams;
8. Sugar and salt to taste, about a tablespoon;
9. Seasonings: curry, paprika, coriander, black pepper, white pepper;
10. Greens: basil, thyme, cilantro, parsley, celery.
11. Two tomatoes.

You can take any greens you like. You can do without it completely. But it adds flavor and spice. Salt, sugar and seasoning are added to taste. To keep the snack well, you need to add a little regular table vinegar.

How to cook step by step

An eggplant appetizer should be prepared in one go. It is important not to confuse anything and follow the recipe in the photo and video.

The highest quality vegetables are selected, free from rot and disease. They are washed and dried. Carrots and onions must first be peeled. Divide the garlic into cloves.

Eggplants are cut into circles or strips, as you like. Carrots, onions and garlic are cut into small cubes. Peppers with diced tomatoes.

Take out a frying pan or saucepan and start cooking. Lay out the vegetables. Add oil, vinegar, sugar and salt. Simmer for a few minutes after boiling.

Tomatoes are added at the end, along with seasonings and herbs. This appetizer is considered spicy, so you don’t have to skimp on the garlic and hot pepper. Simmer for about ten minutes with the lid tightly closed. Then, put the salad on low heat and cook for another ten minutes. The mixture should not gurgle, just simmer quietly.

Lids and jars should be prepared in advance. They are sterilized, washed in hot water, and scalded with hot steam. Then dry and allow to drain.

The warm snack is placed in jars. If there is anything left, you can eat it the same day. The rest is rolled up, screwed, and turned upside down until it cools completely. It is better to store the snack in the cellar or in the refrigerator. You can eat it after a couple of months, but many people open it to enjoy it even earlier.

Important rules for authentic Greek appetizers

Cooking real Greek eggplants for the winter is an art. The video recipe shows that all the vegetables are chopped quite coarsely. This is a little unconventional for Russian snacks. It is no coincidence that this one was called Greek.

After all, it is in Greece that all vegetables are loved and valued, like no other country. Moreover, in salads, each vegetable is highlighted there, without hiding it or disguising it. So it is here: the larger the vegetables in the appetizer, the better and tastier. It’s better not to chop even the garlic, but to cut it into strips or rings. Carrots should come in large cubes.

Another important rule is that the real taste of the product is discovered only after the lids have been screwed on. Therefore, it is better to wait a few months before trying it.

The most important vegetable here is eggplant. There should be more of it than other vegetables. The appetizer is spicy, so you don’t have to skimp on hot peppers, black and red.

It is important to be careful not to overcook the food in the pan. They should crisp slightly when cold. The main feature of the Greek snack is that it is bright, piquant and looks beautiful in a jar or plate. That is why the recipe includes colorful vegetables, as well as herbs.