When making Gemista (iconic Summer stuffed vegetable dish) she used tomatoes, peppers, courgettes and aubergines and amongst them all, one single potato for me. In her recipe, she treated the potato as all the other vegetables, creating a cavity and rubbing it with lots of salt before filling it with the mince, onion, herbs and rice. I loved that combination and this is what gave me the idea of a potato moussaka. If you can fill aubergines, why not potatoes?
Ingredients
- 3 large baking potatoes
For the mince:
- 500g of lean beef mince
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 100ml red wine
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 100 ml passata or the flesh of two tomatoes
- 100ml beef or chicken stock
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to season
For the bechamel sauce:
- 50g flour
- 50g butter
- 500ml whole milk
- 1 egg, beaten
- A pinch of nutmeg
- 100g crumbled feta cheese
- 2 tbsp frygania (French toast crumbs) or other dry crumbs
Method
Preheat the oven to 180c, 350F, Gas Mark 4
Place the potatoes on the middle shelf and bake till soft, approx. 80-90 minutes depending on the size and type of the potato.
While the potatoes are baking, cook the mince.
In a saute pan, add the olive oil and bring to a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrot and cinnamon and cook till the vegetables are soft, stirring all the time. Increase the heat and add the mince to the pan. Stir till the mince browns and breaks up totally. Add the wine and cook till it has evaporated.
Mix the tomato paste into the passata and add to the mince. Add the stock, oregano and bay leaf and adjust seasoning.
Cover the pan and reduce the heat down to low to medium. Cook till the mince is soft and most the liquid has evaporated, approx. 30 minutes. When the mince is cooked, turn the heat off and leave to cool.
Take the potatoes out of the oven when cooked and leave to cool. Cut in half lengthways and scoop out most of the potato flesh leaving a large cavity. Repeat with all the potatoes. Place them in an oiled oven dish fitting them snuggly.
Chop the potato pieces removed from each half and add to the mince. Mix well and finish by tasting again for any further seasoning and add some finely chopped parsley. Fill the potato halves with the mince.
For the bechamel, place the butter in a saucepan and bring to medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the flour and cook for a few minutes stirring continuously. Add the milk and stir with a whisk to get rid of any lumps. Keep stirring and cook till the sauce is lovely and thick. When the sauce starts bubbling, turn off the heat. Season, add the nutmeg, half the feta cheese and the egg and stir fast so that the egg gets incorporated and does not curdle.
Preheat the oven to 180 C again.
Add a two-three spoonfuls of bechamel on top of each potato. Sprinkle with more feta and the frygania or breadcrumbs.
Place in the oven and bake till golden approximately 30 minutes. Eat with a green salad with a citrus dressing.