Bulgarians, as other Balkans, are quite fond of moussakas, i.e. dishes of vegetable slices layered with cheeses and/or sauces. While some moussakas have meat in them, Bulgarians in particular like the vegetarian versions. This potato and cheese moussaka takes advantage of Bulgaria's flavorful hard yellow cheese, kachkaval, and it could not be simpler to make. It's also quite yummy, it was well received by all my guests. I have to admit that I'm not sure of how authentic the sour cream topping is - I'd have thought that yogurt would be a more traditional ingredient - but one never knows. If you can't find kachkaval cheese use another medium-hard, strong flavor cow cheese.
Potato Moussaka with Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 lbs potatoes
- 2/3 lb. Kachkaval cheese, grated
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1/3 cup of sour cream
- 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
- salt, pepper
Instructions
Peel potatoes and boil in salted water until soft. Drain, cool, and slice into rounds.
Preheat the oven to 400 F
Mix the grated cheese with the egg yolks and salt to taste. Add half of the sour cream and mix. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Carefully fold in the egg whites with the cheese mixture.
Grease an oven proof casserole. Put a layer of potato slices, cover with a layer of the cheese and add salt and pepper to taste. Repeat with layers of potato slices and cheese. The last layer should be potatoes. Sprinkle with the oil and pour in the rest of the sour cream.
Bake in the oven until brown, about 40 minutes.
Adapted from The Balkan Cookbook