It's important to keep in mind how rare it is that what you actually make when following a recipe turns out looking like the pristine image in the magazine.....
So went the story of Me Making Moussaka, from a recipe in the glossy Clean Eating.
But there's good news: it still turned out tasting GREAT.
For this recipe, you will need about 40 minutes for prep, and another half hour waiting for it to bake.
Ingredients: (serves 8)
- 1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/3 inch slices
- 2 lbs (or about 6) white potatoes, peeled
- 12 oz. lean ground beef or turkey (or you can just skip the meat if you're veg.)
- 2 cups tomato puree (fresh tomatoes blended in a blender, or diced tomatoes from a can blended in a blender)
- 1/4 cup skim evaporated milk
- 1 cup low-fat sour cream
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 white onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 bay leaf
- oregano at your discretion
- black pepper
- cooking spray
1. Heat oven to 350 F. Boil water in a big hot (enough to cover the potatoes when they're in there) and once the water boils, put the potatoes in, lower heat, and let them cook for 15 minutes until firm but not completely cooked through.
2. Meanwhile, heat meat, garlic and onions together in a medium pot. Stir and make sure meat is being broken down into smaller bits. Cook for about 5 minutes until meat is all brown and vegetables are soft. Add 2 cups tomato puree and 1 cup water to the pot. Then add cinnamon, bay leaf, black pepper and oregano. Stir, cover, and simmer for 20 min. on low to medium heat. When 20 mins is up, remove from heat and set sauce aside.
3. Check on potatoes. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside to cool. Once they're cool enough to touch (I actually didn't wait, and handled them while hot, it's up to you and your tolerance) slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices.
4. Cover 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil, spray the foil with cooking spray, then place eggplant slices on the trays and spray again. Put eggplant in oven for 8 minutes at 350 F.
5. When eggplant is done, transfer to a plate and raise the oven heat to 400 F. Then lay the potato slices on the trays, spray again and cook for 8 minutes.
6. While potatoes are cooking, mix the sour cream, egg and milk until thick.
7. Spray a 12x9 casserole dish with cooking spray. When potatoes are done, remove from oven and place one layer in the casserole dish, reserving some for another layer later.
8. On top of first potato layer, make an eggplant layer. Then pour all the tomato sauce mixture on top. Add another layer of potato, then eggplant. Pour the sour cream mixture on top of that. Dust with 2 tbsp parmesan cheese and bake at 400 F for 30-40 minutes, or until browned a little on top.
Delish, and DAD APPROVED!
