Bosnia and Herzegovina - Moussaka

This was such an easy dish and delicious - worthy of a second serving! I made a few adaptations, but they definitely didn't hinder the taste. 

Interesting facts about Bosnia:

• The United Nations Representative imposed the current country's flag in 1998 because the country failed to agree on a design.
• The Olympic Winter Games were held in Sarajevo in 1984, which is the first time they were held in a communist state.
• Though the country is united, it still recognizes three distinct parts and people of the country. First, the government has one President from each area, and three national languages are recognized. People who identify as Bosniak speak Bosnian and are usually Muslim; people who identify as Croat speak Croatian and are usually Catholic; those who identify as Serb speak Serbian and are usually Orthodox Christian.

I listened to some traditional Bosnian music while I cooked.

 

Moussaka

Meat layer:

2 tablespoons oil

1 yellow onion medium, diced

2 garlic cloves minced (I used pre-minced garlic - 2 tsps.)

1 pound ground beef pork, veal and turkey also work (I used ground turkey)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon paprika

Potato layer:

2 pounds potatoes peeled and cut into 1/3-inch rounds (I used red potatoes and didn't peel them - it turned out great!)

2-4 tablespoons oil or vegetable or coconut

Salt to taste

Topping:

3 eggs (I used 3 tablespoons of ground flax and 9 tablespoons of water)

14 ounces sour cream

3 ounces milk (I used almondmilk)

2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced (I left this out)

1. Heat oil in a deep pan over medium. Add onion and garlic. Cook until translucent, occasionally stirring.

2. Add ground meat and seasonings. Frequently stirring, brown the meat lightly. Remove from heat.

3. Heat over to 450 degrees. In a larger bowl mix potatoes, oil and salt. Mix well with your hands until all potatoes are covered.

4. Evenly layer roughly 1/3 of potato rounds into an 8x8 inch pan covering the bottom of the pan. Top potatoes with roughly 1/2 of the meat filling and spread evenly. Repeat. Top it off with one more layer of potatoes. (In total you'll have 3 potato layers and two meat layers in between.) Place in over and bake for 40 minutes.

5. In a large bowl, whisk topping ingredients until integrated.

6. Take the pan out of the oven and pour the topping evenly over moussaka.

7. Return moussaka to the over for additional 20 minutes or until the top gets a golden color.

8. Rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.

In Bosnian.... Zaslužio sam značku!

In Serbian... Зарадио сам своју значку!

In Croatian... Zaslužio sam svoju značku!

I EARNED MY BADGE!