Musaca cu Cartofi – Romanian potato moussaka

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 80 g butter
• 2 tbsp breadcrumbs, preferably Panko
• 1 ½ kg potatoes
• 2 onions, chopped
• 500 g minced meat, preferably veal
• 1 tbsp flour
• ½ jar white wine, dry
• 4 tbsp parsley, flat, chopped
• 2 tbsp fennel greens or 1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted
• ½ tsp thyme, dried
• 2 egg yolks
• salt and pepper
• 30 g butter flakes
• 0.4 liters of sweet cream
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper
• nutmeg

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 40 minutes

Grease a baking dish generously with butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Peel the potatoes and cut into thick slices. Fry the slices in batches in hot butter until browned on both sides. Sauté the diced onions separately in butter, then add the minced meat and continue frying until crumbly. Dust the minced meat with flour and sauté briefly. Deglaze everything with the white wine and stir in the herbs. Let the mixture cool, stir in the two egg yolks, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Line the baking dish with a layer of potatoes. Then continue with half of the minced meat mixture, a new layer of potatoes, minced meat, and a final layer of potatoes. Season each potato layer generously with salt and pepper. Bake the casserole in an oven preheated to 200°C (400°F) for half an hour. Now place plenty of knobs of butter on the top layer of potatoes. Whisk the eggs and cream thoroughly; you can also add the two egg whites left over from the minced meat mixture. Season the mixture with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and carefully pour it over the potato casserole. Bake the moussaka for another half hour, until the surface is golden brown.