posted by Archana on Comfort Food, Dinner, Entrees, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Turkish, Vegetables, Vegging In

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Last night, since I had more time than usual to make dinner, I took the time to peruse my cookbooks and tear sheets from magazines. Lo and behold, for the first time, I came across a recipe for which I had 99% of the ingreidnets. Usually I don’t have a spice or scallions or something, but this time, minus some of the vegetables the recipe prescribed, I had everything! I’m not saying I can’t improvise, because often have to, but sometimes it’s nice to do as the recipe tells to see just how right (or wrong) they are.

I tried out All You magazine’s recipe for vegetable moussaka, a cooked salad of sort with roots in the Balkans, Middle East, and Greece, and usually filled with meat. For my version, I put a veggie and healthier spin on it by reducing some ingredients (i.e. butter) and using non-fat versions (i.e. milk and yogurt). It passed with flying colors! It’s a really nice meal for a cold winter night.

And whom it may concern, I’m not one to preach against carbs (I love them!), but for those of you who are avoiding breads and pasta after the holidays, this dish is all about the veggies and protein, which in my version, is low-fat or fat-free.

You can mess around with the proportion of veggies as you prefer. I just happen to love mushrooms, so I increased the quantity.

What you need:

• 1 eggplant, cut into rounds (enough for three layers)
• olive oil cooking spray
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup white mushrooms, sliced
• ½ cup diced yellow squash
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried bail
• 1 tsp crushed pepper
• 1  14-oz. can diced tomatoes in puree
• ½ cup Parmesan plus ¼ cup
• ½ tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1½ tbsp whole-wheat flour
• ½ cup skim milk
• 3½ oz. nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 eggs plus 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• whole wheat bread crumbs (as much or as little as you’d like for topping)

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Lay eggplant slices on baking sheet and spray each side with olive oil spray. Bake 20 minutes, turning slices and rotating pans halfway through. Remove eggplant from oven and let cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

2. In a large skillet with a lid, heat olive oil. Add mushrooms and squash, season with salt and pepper and cook, covered, over low heat until soft, about 10 minutes.

3. Remove lid, turn heat to high and cook until liquid evaporates. Add garlic, basil, crushed pepper and tomatoes, and cook until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

4. Mist a 9 x 9 inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Cover bottom of dish with eggplant rounds, spoon half of vegetable sauce on top and sprinkle with ¼ cup Parmesan. Repeat with remaining eggplant and sauce and ¼ cup Parmesan, finishing with a top layer of eggplant.

5. Melt butter in pan and whisk in flour. Cook for 2 minutes.

6. Whisk in milk and cook, stirring, until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ¼ cup Parmesan and yogurt and stir until smooth. Whisk in egg and egg whites.

5. Pour cheese sauce over eggplant and top with bread crumbs. Bake until heated through and top is browned, about 35 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serves 4

Bon appétit!