A one-pan Greek style rice with beef and eggplant in a tasty tomato sauce!
Moussaka is a Greek dish typically containing layers of eggplant, a meat sauce, and a bechamel sauce and it takes a bit of time to make it. This dish is inspired by the flavours of moussaka as a quick and easy one-pan rice pilaf like version! It’s as easy to make as throwing everything into the one-pan and cooking! It starts with beef, onion and the eggplant before adding broth, rice and tomatoes, and cooking until the rice is tender. The seasonings include garlic, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, and allspice. I like to serve this dish with fresh parsley and mint along with crumbled feta. This no fuss Greek beef and eggplant rice dish, aka deconstructed moussaka, is so easy to make that it’s easily doable on busy work nights!
Greek Style Beef and Eggplant Rice (aka Moussaka Rice)
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes Servings: 4
A one-pan Greek style rice with beef and eggplant in a tasty tomato sauce!
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground lean beef (or lamb)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice (optional)
- 1 cup long grain rice
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can tomatoes, crushed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon parsley (and/or mint), chopped
directions
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, add the beef and onion and cook, breaking the beef apart as it cooks, until the beef is cooked through, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the eggplant and cook until tender, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, tomato paste, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, and allspice, mix, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the rice, mix well and cook for a minute.
- Add the broth and tomatoes, mix well, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, mix in the parsley and enjoy!
Note: Use lean ground beef for less fat and medium for more flavour, along with more fat. If you want to use medium beef, cook it before cooking the onions and drain off the excess grease before adding the onions along with the eggplant.
Option: Serve garnished with cheese such as kefalotyri, parmesan, pecorino, feta, etc.
