World Travel Tuesdays...OPA!!!

The thoughts of cooking a healthy "worldly" dish started out as a crazy idea to do one EVERY NIGHT. This obviously didn't pan out while I was working (too difficult!)...so the idea popped back up and this time it was just for every Tuesday night. Me trying to be cutesy with Travel...Tuesdays. Har har har :) So I looked up a world map and started it off! Eventually I'll share all those, but for tonight...we went to Greece!

First off, all recipes I look up, worldly or not, are low calorie (400 or under)! Which is sometimes a challenge. *cough cough* Germany *cough cough* :) With a little research though, I can usually find something. Tonight's recipe was for Lamb Moussaka. Which is a traditional Greek casserole. I found the recipe through www.cookinglight.com!

"Mary had a little lamb...little lamb...little lamb"

Now, I'm going to be honest...didn't make it with lamb. Everyone is entitled to their tastes of course, but every time I think about eating lamb I picture Kate Hudson in her How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days scene crying about the lamb dinner that was made for her. I just get sad thinking it's baby animal. But that's just me being me...and if you truly know me...you know I LOVE BABY ANIMALS! So instead I made it with 96% lean ground beef. The entire recipe is rather complicated I will admit (lots of dishes!). But I made it ahead of time before Matt and I ventured to the gym and I have no doubt it could be made the night before! It took me about an hour and a half to get it to the point of being in the 13x9 pan. And that's not including the 45 minute cooking time and 15 minute rest time. Surprisingly though...we ate a our normal 7:10/7:15/7:20 eating time.

In any case, it turned out really tasty! So here's the recipe complete with pictures! :)

Ingredients needed


LAMB/BEEF MIXTURE:

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground lamb or beef
• 2 cups chopped onion 
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup dried currants or raisins
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 large garlic clove, minced 

SAUCE:

• 2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided 
• 1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine 
• 3 large egg whites 
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 

REMAINING INGREDIENTS:

Careful of your fingers!

• 2 (1 1/4-pound) eggplants, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1 pound peeled baking potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices 
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
• Oregano sprigs (optional) 

Okay. Lots of ingredients. But if you look closely, it's a lot of things most people have anyways! If not, use the dish for maybe a special dinner and not a week night thing. The first thing I did was slice the eggplant and potatoes, dice the onions, and mince the garlic. Why do the knife work separately? The eggplant is to be sliced lengthwise and potatoes are to be sliced horizontally...easy enough! 

Eggplants look pretty funky on the inside

Potatoes!

With the eggplant you are to place the slices on baking sheets (2 sheets..and you'll need both) that have been sprayed with cooking spray and then brush the slices with olive oil. Turn that broiler on and cook for four minutes on each side. *Remember to keep that door cracked a bit while broiling!* And the potatoes you are to bring to a boil and cook while boiling for 5 minutes until tender crisp. Drain them and run the slices under cold water. 

Nothing like the smell of sauteing onions!

The next step I did was to brown the beef. It was done in a skillet. No spray or anything. After the beef is browned. Remove it to a bowl, wipe the skillet clean, and spray it with cooking spray. Next you add the onions and saute them! Once they are translucent, add the beef back into the skillet...along with the raisins (or currants), salt, dried oregano, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, garlic, black pepper, and canned diced tomatoes (*most reviews said to drain TWO cans completely before adding or else it turns out soupy*). 

The smell is simply amazing!!! Cinnamon-y. Mmmm! :) Bring everything to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes or until thickened. While it was busy cooking, I went to work on the sauce! I first whisked the egg whites, 1/2 cup milk (I used skim), flour, and salt together in a separate bowl. I did this because you do not want the cooking milk to boil at all, so I figured I wouldn't have time to be cracking eggs open or measuring flour! :) 

I cooked the milk and butter together until small bubbles started forming around the edges. You'll know when it happens...because it starts to look funky. I did not get a picture of this because...well, I started freaking out that I was going to burn the sauce :) Once these bubbles start going, pull the saucepan off the burner and slowly introduce the hot liquid into the egg/flour/milk/salt mixture (..you don't want scrambled egg whites!). You must constantly whisk everything together while doing this as well. Coordination, people! 

Bubbly goodness.

After everything is all merry together, the mixture goes back into your saucepan and onto the stove to be stirred constantly until it thickens and then remove from the heat. The recipe says for approx. 15 minutes. Mine thickened in less.


Phew. Okay. All done with the separate parts! Let's put it together. I did mine lasagna style (even though I think all potatoes are supposed to go on the bottom?). It worked out really well though! Spray your 13x9 pan and begin layering. First layer...potatoes! Second layer...eggplant slices! Third layer?? You guessed it...beef mixture! Top it off with a tablespoon of your Parmesan cheese. Then repeat! Potatoes, eggplant, beef, cheese.

Layered yumminess..

The last thing to do is add the sauce on top. Spread it around good and add the remaining cheese on top!

The finished product!

Preheat that oven to 375 and bake it for 45 minutes or until golden brown on top!! I will tell you, it has a very sweet savory taste. I would make it again on a cool/cold night because it's one of those stick to your ribs comfort foods...but low in calories! In fact one serving is 374 calories. Believe it or not!!! We definitely have left overs, but with Matt doing electives he's home for lunch! And we have leftovers on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So I'm pretty sure it'll get eaten. Matt gave it a 4/5 for taste. He said it tasted really good, but he wished it was tomatoe-y-er. Which is a shock to me. Because he doesn't like tomatoes. So I probably wouldn't drain as less the next time. :)

Well that's that. My Grecian recipe. It was a lot of fun to make. Through this "culinary trip" process I'm always excited to learn different cooking methods and recipes. It may not be super authentic, but it turns out pretty darn tasty!...and I promise, they aren't always this complicated!!! :)

Here is the link in case you're interested: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lamb-moussaka-10000000222987/