Potato moussaka with zucchini and smoked prosciutto

Where are you, busy little bees, what has been smelling good in your kitchen today? In my - something simple and easy was simmering, yet with a complex enough flavor to satisfy everyones palate and tooth. 😁 I mean, if you are a fan of potatoes, zucchini and cured meat.

So let us get started. I did not follow a specific recipe, this is something made more or less from my head, although it could easily fall under the moussaka category, it is quite similar. I made sure to measure everything I used, so below you will find exact quantities for a dish that is enough for 3 people. If you want more, simply double the amounts. The only thing I did not specify is the use of salt. I season by eye and to taste. It is important not to overdo it here, because zucchini does not tolerate much salt and the meat is already salty on its own.

First, I peeled 3 potatoes, a total of 400 g, and sliced them into evenly thick rounds, not too thin and not too thick. I lightly salted them, very lightly, and set them aside.
Then I did the same with one smaller zucchini, weighing 300 g. I sliced it into rounds of the same thickness as the potatoes, added just a pinch of salt, and placed them in a separate bowl to release some water. After a few minutes, I gently squeezed them dry.

Once again, I have to repeat, it is very important not to overdo it with salt. And if you are wondering why I am being so annoying about it, well, that is because I did...xD I may have slightly overdone it aaaaaand it was right on the edge of being edible. Still, for those who like saltier food, it probably would not be a problem at all. With some bread and yogurt on the side, it actually went down quite nicely, so everything was eaten. 😄

I finely chopped one clove of garlic. My cloves are quite large, so I did not add more. Then I diced 100 g of smoked homemade pork prosciutto.
In three tablespoons of olive oil, I first briefly sautéed the garlic, then added the meat and cooked everything until it was nicely browned and released a wonderful aroma throughout the whole house.
Those who are not fans of the smell of garlic were not exactly thrilled, hihi.
Garlic rules! 😍

I prepared a small ovenproof dish, brushed the bottom and sides with a little olive oil and started arranging everything in a circle, like vegetables for ratatouille, placing them right next to each other. Potato, then zucchini, then potato, then zucchini, until I used everything up.
When I realized the dish was actually a bit larger and there was some empty space, I simply loosened the arrangement slightly, pressing from the top so it would cover the entire bottom while still keeping that accordion look, a row of this, a row of that. You'll see it in the photo below.

Then I whisked two eggs until frothy with a fork, mixed in three heaping tablespoons of sour cream and added a little ground black pepper. I used this mixture to pour over the top of this dish before baking.

So, first the vegetables (potatoes and zucchini), then sautéed meat and garlic -> Make sure to pour all the live oil from the pan where it was fried to make this "moussaka" taste goooooood! 🤤 Finally, pour over the egg, cream and pepper mixture.
Place it in a preheated oven at 220°C for about 40 minutes and that's it. Ready to be served. Yum yum!

Here you can see how it looked nicely even before baking. By the way, I can taste everything raw, without cooking, so when it comes to the tricky part with salting or oversalting, I simply taste it, salted potatoes, mushrooms, meat, eggs, dough, everything. I actually enjoy it; I could even eat it like that, just in case there's some kind of apocalypse and the power goes out, ahahha. 😁

A list of the ingredients I used in this recipe:

~ 3 potatoes (about 400 g)

~ 1 small zucchini (about 300 g)

~ 1 clove of garlic

~ 100 g smoked homemade pork prosciutto

~ 3 tablespoons olive oil and a bit for brushing the ovenproof dish

~ 2 eggs

~ 3 heaping tablespoons sour cream

~ salt to taste

~ black pepper

The idea for this dish actually came from this week's new theme in the Hive Top Chef competition, which is POTATOEEEES! Most people love them and could eat them in all possible forms, so this theme is an endless source of inspiration. Join in and enjoy the beautiful photos that capture the flavors and aromas of the prepared dishes quite realistically.

Thank you so much for reading, until the next recipe, bye bye! ❤️