Sucka?! Moussaka!

I embarked on a journey this evening. A journey that culminated in moussaka.

Moussaka, from the Greek and Arabic meaning "chilled" (aaah, college flashback!), is a fabulously delicious dish combing multiple of my favorite things: cheese, tomatoes and eggplant. Can we collectively say... "Yum!" As it turns out, moussaka is not so easy to make. I started at circa 8pm and it is currently 11pm. and I am FINALLY eating.

I decided on Martha's healthy moussaka recipe as I am still attempting to (roughly) keep to my strict pre-diabetic diet. Instead of loads of cheese, the recipe uses just 1/4 cup of Parmesan and a cup of non-fat yogurt (I used Greek yogurt, figuring it would go along well with the recipe), mixed with one full egg and one egg white.

The time consuming aspects were twofold. First, I had to combine onion, nutmeg, cinnamon, canned whole tomatoes and tomato paste (of course, I omitted the meat). This mixture needed to thicken on the stove for an hour. Meanwhile, I prepared the eggplant. I sliced the eggplant in thin slices and smoothed salt on both sides of each slice. Per Martha's instructions, I put each slice in a strainer for an hour, as the juice of the eggplant drained.

After an hour, I rinsed each eggplant slice under cold water. I broiled the eggplant slices for two minutes on each side, marinating with canola oil spray. I removed the sauce from the stove. Next, I layered the ingredients in a pan. Naturally, I don't have a casserole dish, so I used a rimmed pan and blocked off the moussaka with aluminum foil... a bit ghetto but effective. I did one layer of eggplant, then half the tomato sauce, then the rest of the eggplant, then the cheese mixture. I baked this casserole in the oven for around 30 minutes.

FINALLY, I was done. And I have to say it was more than worth it, even though it is super late and I should be in bed by now. There is nothing better than a healthy moussaka that actually tastes good. Fabulous. I'll be bringing the leftovers for lunch for tomorrow, for sure!

Edit: THere were actually a few moments while I was eating this that I said, aloud, "Goodness, this is good." To myself. Alone in my room. It's really that good.

Recipe (from Martha Stewart, marthastewart.com): 
 
Ingredients

Serves 6

• 2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more for eggplant
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 medium eggplants (about 2 pounds)
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg white
• Olive-oil cooking spray

Directions

1. Drain yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined sieve until thickened, 2 hours or overnight.
2. Place turkey in a medium saucepan over medium heat; cook until browned, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a medium bowl. Add onion, garlic, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and pepper to saucepan; cook until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Return turkey to saucepan with tomatoes, tomato paste, and oregano. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low; simmer until sauce has thickened, about 1 hour. Remove from heat; stir in chopped parsley; set aside.
3. Preheat broiler. While sauce cooks, cut eggplants into 1/4-inch slices. Sprinkle with salt on both sides. Place in a colander over a bowl; let stand 1 hour to drain. Discard liquid; rinse each slice under cold running water to remove all salt and juice. Place slices on several layers of paper towels; press out water. Lay dry slices on a clean baking sheet; coat with olive-oil spray; broil until browned, about 2 minutes. Turn; coat with olive-oil spray; broil until browned, about 2 minutes more. Repeat until all eggplant slices have been broiled; set cooked eggplant aside.
4. Place drained yogurt in a small bowl. Add Parmesan and eggs. Whisk together briskly with a fork; set aside.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Assemble moussaka: Place a layer of eggplant on the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch baking pan. Cover with half the turkey sauce. Place another eggplant layer, then the remaining turkey sauce.Add a final eggplant layer; cover with reserved yogurt mixture. Bake until mixture is bubbling and top starts to brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a heat-proof surface; let sit until moussaka cools slightly and firms, about 10 minutes. Cut into squares; serve.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Moussaka