Once again, we visit the Mediterranean—but not in the way we know best.
So, I was about to make a totally different dish this week. I was thinking of chicken alfredo, but knowing my fiance, that would simply not bode well for him. (Those heavy dishes full of cream and butter can be a nightmare on the stomach.) Maybe one day I'll make it! But not anytime soon, it seems.
However, there was another type of food I'd been looking to try for a long time: moussaka. This is a Balkan dish, namely Greek (but with several variations from Turkey, Bulgaria, etc., too). I saw someone make it once, and it looked lovely, so I wanted to try it myself, and I found this recipe from RecipeTin Eats to make it. This doesn't quite feel the same as what I saw so long ago on TikTok—if anything, it feels like it's combining Greek and Bulgarian versions—but hey. It had Vegeta listed as an ingredient, and that's all my Slovenian ass has to know, y'know?
However, I loved getting to make another eggplant dish, because eggplants to me are all about that Jupiter vibe. Fiery, but also airy (with how light those bad boys are), with that beautiful purple color? Yeah. There's a lot to work with there, especially when combined with onion, garlic, nutmeg, and cinnamon (and honestly a lot more, too). So let's take a look!
Magic in Greek Moussaka
As I was saying: that eggplant has a lot going for it in terms of magic. Whether you associate it with air or fire more is up to you; I find it's got a bit of both, but that purple color, and the pop culture uses of the eggplant emoji 🍆, lend itself something more to a very fiery, passionate energy. Purple itself being the color of royalty, though, suggests it's less Mars and more Jupiter: all about that royal power, that grace and expansion and abundance.
Onions and garlic, too, while often thought of as baneful items, are also associated with wealth and money. This very well may have to do with the fact that, as ingredients associated with more cthonic deities (garlic is a classic offering to Hekate, for instance), they're also associated with wealth. It was once thought that deities of death or the underworld itself would be closer to the many precious metals that were so high value for ancient societies at the time. This makes garlic and onion some two-for-one deals on protection and wealth.
And of course, things like cinnamon and nutmeg are great not only for protection, but for that Jupiter and Sun vibe, and all the wealth, expansion, luck, optimism, and empowerment that you need to chase those money-earning goals. Combine that with the butter, milk, and wheat that goes into a good bechamel, the classic signs of wealth for our ancestors who needed to survive the winter, and you've got yourself something rich and luxurious that invokes that same vibe into your life.
The elemental associations here, primarily, is fire. Fire with maybe a little air, if you think eggplant has more of that airy vibe for it. However, if you wanted to invoke the dairy and wheat in here, too, that would also add a little drop of water and a little crumb of earth, too. But with the main planetary associations being all those bright, bold, powerful celestial bodies—the Sun, Jupiter, and Mars—you know this isn't just about getting money in the bank. This is about the power, the drive, to accomplish your goals, whatever they may be. This is about being protected, bold, confident, and creative, much like the suit of Wands in tarot. With these celestial bodies, and all their shining fire, you know the energy in here is the kind that'll get you to go, go, go.
Greek Moussaka
Prep time: 45min
Cook time: 30min
Makes 4-6 servings
Main Meal Ingredients:
2 large eggplants
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion , diced (brown, white, yellow)
3 garlic cloves , minced
2lbs ground beef
1/2 cup red wine , dry (optional)
14 oz /400g crushed tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 cup beef broth/stock
1 beef bouillon cube , crumbled (or 1 tsp powder)
3 bay leaves
1.5 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon (or 1 whole stick)
Salt to taste
Optional: Crushed red pepper flakes
Bechamel Sauce
4 tbsp (60g) butter
5 tbsp plain flour
2 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated (optional)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 1/4 tsp Vegeta, or chicken bouillon poweder
1/4 tsp pepper
Directions:
Peel and slice the eggplant into thin slices, then salt generously and mix in a colander. Let sit for 30min.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
While eggplants sweat, begin your filling. Dice an onion and fry in a deep skillet with olive oil until soft.
Mince and fry garlic until fragrant. Add red pepper flakes if you like spice.
Add 2lbs of ground beef and break up into little pieces.
When the eggplants are done sweating, lay out on a parchment lined baking sheet and pat with paper towels to remove excess salt/moisture
Bake for 15min or until browned.
While those are baking, add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, beef stock, and spices to your meat. Let simmer until the sauce has thickened.
Start the bechamel by melting 4 Tbsp of butter into a saucepan and adding your flour until a thick paste forms. Stir constantly.
Add milk a little bit at a time until all the butter/flour of the roux is incorporated and not super lumpy.
Add salt, pepper, Vegeta (or chicken bouillon powder), and keep stirring or take off the heat to avoid it burning.
Remove eggplant slices and let cool, then set the oven heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Temper 2 eggs with the still-hot bechamel so they don’t get scrambled, then add them to the sauce along with shredded parmesan cheese. Mix until combined and set aside.
Layer a baking dish with eggplant slices, fill with filling, add another layer of eggplant on top, and then add your bechamel sauce over it all.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, then broil for 2-3 minutes for a bubbly top. Afterwards, let it stand for 10 minutes before eating.
This is a really hearty meal that is so satisfying and so nutritious. Without the noodles or bread on there, too, this is also safe for my gluten free folks. Even though I made some oopsies throughout on my first time (like forgetting an ingredient or two and putting way too much liquid in the filling), I managed to get it all to work out, and I gotta say—it was a solid, warm, very nicely spiced dish for a night at home! Definitely give it a try. ♥
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Sara Raztresen is a Slovene-American writer, screenwriter, and Christian witch. Her fantasy works draw heavily on the wisdom she gathers from her own personal and spiritual experience, and her spiritual practice borrows much of the whimsy and wonder that modern society has relegated to fairy-and-folktale. Her goal is to help people regain their spiritual footing and discover God through a new (yet old) lens of mysticism.
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