You’ve probably heard of Moussaka, the famous Greek dish made with eggplant. But have you tasted the Balkan Musaka? The Balkan version is made with potato instead of eggplant and if you’re a meat and potato kind of girl/gal, this is truly the dish for you.

Musaka is probably one of my husband’s favorite dishes, and one I ate often as a kid. I like to make it on Saturday mornings and it lasts us the weekend. It reheats very well, it’s hearty and delicious, and it’s a great dish all year round. This is the perfect dish to make on Sunday night for dinner and have leftovers for work the next day.

All you need is a refreshing side salad!

Think of Musaka as a meat and potato lasagna. It’s assembled the same way, by layering each component in the dish and baking. The Balkan style Musaka is made up of potatoes, your choice of ground meat, and an egg-based custard that helps it set and hold it all together. As you’ll see in my recipe below, I like to add a little extra richness to my egg custard by adding sour cream, but I also add in some Kefir or yogurt sometimes; you can use whatever you have on hand.

If you’re entertaining and would like to make your Musaka look really beautiful, set aside the nicer looking potato slices and use those for the top. Line them in a straight line across your dish, slightly overlapping each one. It should look like a shingled roof! Use those not so nice looking potato pieces for the bottom or middle layer, no one will ever know. 🙂

One important thing to remember is to make sure you season and oil your potato slices as soon as possible after cutting to prevent the potatoes from changing color. You can do this in one of two ways: using a mandolin to cut all the potatoes quicker, or adding the oil and seasoning to the bowl ahead of time and stirring after each addition. Personally, I like the 2nd option because it’s safer.

Here’s a slideshow showing you the process of assembling this dish.

Musaka Sa Krompirom / Potato Musaka

Recipe by The Balkan HostessCourse: MainCuisine: Serbian, Balkan

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

A classic Balkan dish, hearty and delicious.

Ingredients

1.5 lb (680 g) ground beef/pork/turkey/ or combo
1 large yellow onion, diced
5-8 large yellow potatoes, sliced thin
3 tbsp (30 g) Vegeta seasoning
1 tsp (3 g) garlic powder
1 tbsp (10 g) paprika (Aleva Paprika)
1/2 tsp (5 g) black pepper
Oil (I use sunflower)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream/Greek yogurt
1 cup (250 ml) milk

Directions

Brown your ground meat in a skillet, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon as it browns. If using a very lean meat like turkey, add in about 1 tbsp of oil. When it browns completely, add in the yellow onion and continue to brown until any liquid is evaporated and the meat begins to saute/fry in the pan. See note below.
Season the meat with garlic powder, 1 tbsp of Vegeta, black pepper, and paprika. Salt to taste. Stir well and make sure all meat is covered. Taste and adjust for seasoning and remove from heat. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine about 3 tbsp (15 ml) of oil, 2 tbsp of Vegeta, and 1 tsp (6 g) of salt. Set aside.
Peel potatoes. Using a sharp knife or mandolin, slice each potato into thin slices (see photo in slideshow above). Transfer potato slices to the bowl with oil and seasoning. Stir and ensure all potato slices are covered in oil. Continue to do this with the addition of each sliced potato.
Preheat oven to 375F (200 C). Prepare a 9 x 13 casserole dish by spray with cooking spray or brushing oil on the bottom and sides.
Layer the ingredients into the baking dish, first covering the bottom with a layer of seasoned potatoes, then meat, potatoes, and so on until you have used up all of your ingredients.
Prepare the egg custard. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sour cream, milk, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk until all ingredients are combined. Pour this mixture over the Musaka making sure it is distributed evenly.
Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes. At the 30 minute mark, remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes on top turn a golden brown. Test for doneness by using a fork and ensure potatoes in the Musaka are soft.
When fully cooked, let the Musaka rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Notes

You can use any ground meat you like, I prefer to use half beef and half pork, but a pork/turkey combo is very tasty as well.
When cooking your meat, make sure it’s not dry. If there is little fat in the skillet, add a few tablespoons of oil. It needs a little bit of fat to flavor the rest of the dish.

Let me know if you give this recipe a try. Be sure to hashtag #thebalkanhostess so I can see your creation! And if you have any questions along the way, message me on Instagram.