The Taste of The Taverna Greece, 13th century

Moussaka is perhaps best described as a meat and vegetable stew made with alternating layers of sliced aubergines and minced beef or lamb. Today, it is considered to be Greece’s national dish and this is in part due to master chef Nikolaos Tselementes, who radically rewrote the recipe in the 1920s. He added a béchamel sauce out of the mistaken belief that all European cooking – in this case, French cuisine – ultimately had its roots in Ancient Greece.

However, while Tselementes’ recipe sought to excise an Eastern influence that he thought was introduced during Ottoman rule in Greece, the earliest recorded recipe for moussaka has actually been found in a 13th-century Arabic text known as A Baghdad Cookbook.

The following recipe takes inspiration from the

Baghdad Cookbook version but as the original text is quite vague, we’ve had to improvise. Before starting, it is important to remember that a great moussaka is a labour of love! It is time-consuming but the end result is definitely worth it.