Speedyish Moussaka

(from ‘Sara Moulton’)

Her recipe is called Speedy Moussaka, and while I wouldn't exactly call it speedy, it was absolutely wonderful, and much lighter, than most - and it will be on heavy rotation when we're craving comfort food. I went with ground turkey thighs for this, in lieu of extra lean ground beef (or god forbid, lamb - ew(e), and it was perfect! I also substituted dry curd cottage cheese for the ricotta as that's what I had on hand, but because I had half the amount, I upped the yogurt content, and also added some grated Regiano for flavour and to assist the top in browning. 4 extra large servings!

1 large eggplant
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 lb ground beef or turkey (or lamb, yuck!)
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp fresh oregano
½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup dry red wine
¼ cup tomato paste
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
Freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces feta cheese
One (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta
¼ cup plain low-fat or full-fat Greek yogurt

375 oven. Lightly oil a large rimmed baking sheet + a 9” square baking pan or 10” oval casserole dish.

Peel eggplant and cut crosswise into ½” slices. Combine olive oil w/ ¼ tsp salt & brush on both sides of eggplant slices. Arrange in one layer on baking sheet & bake until tender, 12-15 mins. (I needed to repeat this process!) Remove eggplant from oven & and set it aside until coolish.

Meanwhile, cook meat in large skillet until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl using a slotted spatula, and discard all but 1 tbsp fat from the skillet. (You won’t have any fat from the turkey!)

While the meat is cooking, coarsely chop onion. Heat remaining 1 tbsp fat in the skillet, and cook onion, about 5 mins, add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add chopped oregano (1 tbsp) & parsley (1/4 cup).

Return the meat to the skillet and stir in red wine, tomato paste, oregano & cinnamon. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 mins, or until wine has almost evaporated. Add s & pepper to taste and set aside.

Crumble feta cheese into a medium bowl. Stir in ricotta and parsley. Set aside 1/2 cup of the mixture.

I actually made this in 3 layers, like lasagna –arrange 1/3 of the eggplant in the oiled pan or casserole dish. Top it with ½ the meat mixture; Add another 1/3 of the eggplant, and ½ ricotta mixture in the bowl, and then the final 1/3 of the eggplant & remaining sauce. Stir yogurt into reserved ricotta mixture and spread it over the eggplant. Bake for about 35 mins, or until moussaka is heated through and the top cheese layer has set. Spoon onto plates and serve immediately.