Israeli-Style Moussaka for Passover is an easy-to-make eggplant dish that’s terrific to serve during the week of the holiday.
Moussaka itself is a warm and hearty Mediterranean/Middle Eastern dish of layers of eggplant and a delicious, savory meat filling.
While the Greek version is made with béchamel (pronounced bay-sha-mel), a dairy white sauce this recipe is “Israeli-style” and dairy-free!
Moussaka is a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern dish, each country with its own unique recipe and flavor.
Israeli-Style moussaka is simple and dairy-free.
While it normally uses breadcrumbs to soak up excess liquid, this recipe uses matzo meal or matzo cake meal (which is the same, just ground finer).
This makes the dish come out more stiff where it can be sliced into pieces.
However, when I make it, I try not to use any breadcrumbs or matzo meal at all, but rather I use minimal liquid and let the eggplant soak up the liquid, so my moussaka comes out looser, but by the opinions of my kids, it’s more flavorful.
This dish refrigerates well, so you can just warm up when you’re read.
It makes a really good lunch or dinner for family or guests and it’s unique enough to bring to a Passover get-together!
Food on Passover
Torah-observant Jews do not eat chametz (the fermented products of five grains: wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye).
In addition, Torah-observant Ashkenazi Jews do not eat kitniyot (or kitniyos as pronounced in Ashkenazi Hebrew). These include legumes, corn, rice, and similar foods that were deemed forbidden to eat by rabbis in the medieval period and are still not eaten today. Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews do not follow this tradition.
Many observant Ashkenazi Jews will not even eat the derivatives of these kitniyot, while others do (each family holds their own traditions regarding this).
Then, there are Ashkenazim who don’t eat “gebrokts” (or gebrochts).
Gebrokts (gebrochts) means “broken” in Yiddish, and in this case refers to matzo that has absorbed liquid. Not eating gebrokts is observed by many in the Hasidic Jewish community and Ashkenazim who have taken on this tradition, where they basically don’t mix anything wet with matzo.
So, things like matzo sandwiches, fried matzo, and even matzo balls are a no-no for them.
There is a joke that sums it all up:
On Passover, we should remember people who have little to eat on this holiday. They are called Ashkenazim.
Over the years, I have learned to adapt “normal” food for Passover so that my family won’t complain about boring, tasteless, or repetitive meals.
I find that having good food and variety makes the week of Passover a very pleasant experience, and I hope this recipe will help make yours just that!
A little about Moussaka
Moussaka is an eggplant dish that is made in various places in the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
The most well-known type of moussaka internationally is the Greek version, which normally includes 3 layers.
The bottom layer is slices of eggplant fried in olive oil. On top of that is the meat – ground lamb (or beef) with onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes, herbs and spices. Then the meat is topped with cheese in Greek bechamel sauce.
The layers are place in a greased baking pan or dish, and baked until the top is a golden brown (which doesn’t take long at all as the bottom two layers were already cooked).
Other Mediterranean countries use different sauces or may sprinkle grated cheese or breadcrumbs.
The Turkish version includes fried eggplant, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and ground beef and is not served in layers.
There are also versions that use zucchini, carrots, and potatoes. In fact, in places such as Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, and others, potatoes are used instead of eggplant.
In Arab countries, moussaka is a cooked salad with the main ingredients being eggplant and tomatoes and is mostly served cold as an appetizer (moussaka = chilled).
Those are generalities and everyone kind of does there own thing when preparing this dish. This particularly holds true in Israel were one can find recipes that vary in ingredients (include various herbs and spices and may include both eggplant and potatoes).
Israeli Style Moussaka for Passover is not only kosher for Passover, but also one of the simplest non-dairy versions out there.
A little about Israeli cuisine
Some people complain about cultural appropriation in cuisine when food from one country is attributed to another country.
However, national cuisine in itself is often a mingling of food from a variety of cultures, often due to a change of ruling countries and a shifting of borders.
When people move from country to country, they will take their cultures with them, and their descendants may adapt their traditional cuisine with that of their new home.
When one lives in a melting pot, such as the US or Israel, it is just unrealistic to expect that food from a particular culture won’t mingle with that of other cultures.
“Israeli cuisine” is mostly Middle Eastern (as opposed to Eastern European) food that was brought to Israel by Jews when they fled or were expelled from Muslim countries and moved to Israel mostly after the declaration of the State of Israel (collectively known as Mizrahi Jews).
Recipes were passed from generation to generation, and although decades have passed, the foods are still known by the culture they came from, and everyone seems to have their own way of making them.
That said, there are many variations of pretty much any “Israeli” recipe because of background, custom, or even just taste. When choosing a recipe, one has to know what actually constitutes a main ingredient—what makes the dish what it is—and what is left up to individual taste.
A little about eggplants
The eggplant is native to India and Asia, where it can be found growing wild, and it is believed that eggplants were brought to Europe sometime during the 7th or 8th century.
Australians and Americans call the vegetable eggplant, while in England it is called an aubergine, from the French word for this vegetable.
Because of its meaty texture, eggplant is used instead of meat in some vegetarian versions of meat recipes.
While there are a variety of types of eggplants, the one for this recipe is the large, egg-shaped (or teardrop-shaped), blackish-purple one with the meaty inside.
Eggplants have health benefits, as they contain antioxidants like vitamins A and C, which help protect your cells against damage, and are low in calories.
About cooking eggplant
Before cooking an eggplant, cut off the top part where the green is (called a calyx). The bottom tip should also be removed, but this is not imperative. The skin is perfectly fine to eat, but it must be cooked well. Otherwise it may come out chewy.
This recipe can use either peeled eggplants or eggplants with the skin (having the skin on will not ruin the recipe).
Eggplant is naturally a little bitter. If you find that to be the case, you can draw out the bitterness by sprinkling it with salt and letting it sit awhile. If you are using slices or pieces, slightly salt after cutting. I have personally never found this to be a problem when cooking with eggplants
Using salt before cooking can help prevent the eggplant from absorbing too much oil and becoming greasy if using oil with the eggplant recipe (I normally just pat the pieces with a paper towel if need be).
If you do use salt, MAKE SURE to rinse it off before cooking the eggplant, or the salt will become a part of your dish!
Personally, I have never salted my eggplants before using them (and I have used eggplants in two countries) and have never had any problem with bitterness, but if you have any concern, please do.
If a recipe calls for frying, but you prefer not to do so because of the calories the oil will add to the recipe, you can spray with cooking oil and bake instead.
Some seasonings to keep in your Passover kitchen
As I learned to prepare more and more recipes for Passover, I also learned which basics and seasonings are good to have on hand to have the ability to make a dish on short notice—especially during the holiday—and not have to run out to the store or borrow from a neighbor.
Everyone has their favorite recipes, preferred seasoning, and just whatever they like to use to cook. Your own list should certainly reflect your own cooking tastes and style. Just make sure that everything is Kosher for Passover (or KLP—Kasher L’Pesach, in Hebrew) and if you are Ashkenazi, that list will be shorter than if you are not.
Make sure to check with a qualified rabbi if you have any questions.
- salt
- ground black or white pepper
- granulated garlic or garlic powder
- onion powder
- ground cinnamon
- sugar (granulated)
- brown sugar
- chicken consommé powder
- onion soup mix
- various herbs
- additional spices to adapt taste to preference
Misc:
- oil / margarine / butter / cooking spray
- potato starch as a thickening agent
- baking powder
- matzo cake meal (matzo meal, but ground into a powder)
- condiments, such as ketchup and barbecue sauce
- tomato sauce/tomato paste/canned tomatoes—diced or crushed/pasta sauce
Israeli-Style Moussaka for Passover
Delicious Middle Eastern dish of savory meat filling in between layers of sliced eggplant, kosher for Passover.
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants (approximately 9 inches long)
- 1 medium onion dice or chopped
- 2-3 celery stalks diced or chopped very small
- 1 - 28oz can diced tomatoes or equivalent, drained
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (or other ground meat)
- 2 tbsp chicken consomme powder or beef bullion powderr
- 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup matza cake meal (to use if needed)
- 1 - 2 tomatoes, sliced or other topping, (optional)
- oil for frying
Instructions
Eggplant
- Sliced eggplant lengthwise into 6 slices each (you should have a total of 12 slices).*
- Place evenly on baking sheet covered with baking paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.
- Place in a preheated oven at 350° F for 20 minutes or until slices have softened, slightly dehydrated and browned a little.**
- Let cool.
Meat Mixture
- Pour enough oil into a large saucepan to just cover the bottom.
- On medium heat, saute diced onions and celery until mostly clear.
- Add diced tomatoes, ground beef, chicken consomme powder, tomato paste, and pepper.
- Mix well and cook on medium heat until meat and tomatoes are thoroughly cooked and the liquid has mostly evaporated (if need be, add some matzo meal or matzo cake meal) a little at a time and mix until the liquid has been mostly soaked up).
Prepring the dish
- Lay three slices of eggplant on the bottom of a 9" x 9" baking pan
- Cover with a layer of the meat mixture, then another layer of eggplant. Repeat until the eggplant and meat mixture are done (if you use 3 slices of eggplant per layer, then you will use 1/4 of the meat mixture in between each layer and if you use 4 slices of eggplant per layer, then you will use 1/3 of the meat mixture in between each layer.
- Cover the top with slices of tomato or other topping.
- Bake at 400° for approximately 20 - 30 minutes (or bake at 350° for longer) until the topping has cooked.
Notes
*You can slice into discs, if desired.
** Or you can lightly fry them instead of baking. Be careful not to over-fry because you want the eggplant to soak up liquids from the filling while baking.
MAKE SURE ALL INGREDIENTS ARE KOSHER FOR PASSOVER.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
9Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 404Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 88mgSodium: 257mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 6gSugar: 20gProtein: 24g