Tag Archives: Eggplant

Eggplant Moussaka

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For better or for worse, I’m mostly a creature of habit.  Near my house there is a Lebanese restaurant that I frequent.  I have tried a variety of things on their menu, and they were all very good, but I usually end up wishing that I could have the eggplant moussaka.  I have ordered the eggplant moussaka so many times that the waitress, the chef’s daughter, hands me the menu and at the same time gives me this look that practically says, “Let’s cut to the chase.  You want the eggplant.”  I love places like these.  I don’t even have to speak; she already knows.

I’ve asked the chef’s daughter how I can make this dish at home.  She told me how to do it in the abstract and I’m still trying to figure it out.  This is my best attempt, short of just asking for a take-out box and passing it off as my own.

You’ll need:

  • 2 large eggplant
  • 3 medium bell peppers, sliced into strips (any color you want, but traditionally I’ve seen this dish with green peppers)
  • 5 large tomatoes , diced (alternatively, you can use a 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes)
  • 1 medium yellow onion (a Spanish onion might be nice here too)
  • 1 cup of garbanzo beans
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons of cumin
  • 3 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • 1/3 of water or vegetable stock
  • 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
  • salt and pepper

Pull it all together:

Slice the eggplant into rounds, about 1/2 an inch thick.  Slather with some olive, salt them and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Halfway through I usually turn them over so they cook evenly.  (I have also tried frying the rounds, but it requires much more oil and the taste didn’t seem to matter in the end.)

In the meantime, saute the onion on medium heat with olive oil for 5 minutes, until brown.  Add the minced garlic and cook together for 1 minute.  Next, add the diced tomatoes, peppers, garbanzo beans, tomato paste, cumin, salt, and pepper (add the S/P to taste).  If you are using canned tomatoes, then you won’t need to add the 1/4 cup of water or stock.  Otherwise, go ahead and add the liquid.  Cook the mixture for 5 minutes.

When assembling, I like to think of it like it’s a lasagna.  Spread the tomato mixture on the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish.  Layer the eggplant.  Spread some more tomato mixture.  Add another eggplant layer.  Top off with the remainder of the tomato mixture.

Cover with foil at first and then uncover halfway through baking.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

 

 

Spring cleaning: whole wheat lasagna noodles

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I’ve had a box and a half of whole wheat lasagna noodles for some time now.  They weren’t getting any younger just sittin’ there.  The problem, or so I thought, was that I didn’t have any cheese.  It turns out that cheese-less lasagna is pretty dang good.  I had 2 small eggplants and some zucchini lying around as well so I used my mandolin and sliced them length-wise.  With all fingers accounted for, I constructed the lasagna, layering the noodles with the eggplant and zucchini in between, just like I would if I had cheese on hand.  And, I topped it off with sliced roma tomatoes.

It turned out fantastic.  The creaminess of the eggplant isn’t exactly a perfect substitute, but I felt a little less guilty going for seconds knowing that I didn’t just eat my year’s allotment of saturated fats in one sitting.  I also used a bottle of Trader Joe’s tomato basil marina that was in my pantry.  Killing 2 birds with one stone – this is what I call spring cleaning.