moussaka

I made a moussaka this morning for our evening meal...that way we can pop it in the oven, go to the gym, and come home to a delicious cooked meal.

I made this version a while ago, and it was amazing, but I wanted a slightly less luxurious and calorific version to bring it into our everyday repertoire, so this is what I did. This recipe has approximately 2500 calories in it total, so one sixth of that is approximately 420 calories.

500g lean lamb mince

1 onion, chopped

1.5 cans of chopped tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp mixed spice

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

2 large aubergines

1 tablespoon butter

1 heaped tablespoon flour

1 pint low-fat milk

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon grated mozzarella

1 whole raw egg

1. Brown the lamb mince in a large saucepan with the onions and garlic. Drain off the fat and discard it. Return the pan of meat, onions and garlic to the heat.

2. Add tomatoes, herbs, spices, red wine vinegar and seasoning. Stir well and leave to simmer for an hour. Stir and taste from time to time.

3. Slice the aubergines lengthwise and salt them. Leave them for 30 minutes to draw out the bitter juices.

4. Make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the flour and stir well. Cook this paste on a low heat for 5 minutes (this gets rid of a floury taste). Remove from the heat. Stir in the milk, one splash at a time, until you have a lump-free mixture. It should be thin and smooth. Return to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly, until thick and creamy. Lower the heat and continue to stir and simmer for five minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheeses. They should melt immediately. Leave aside to cool.

5. Rinse the aubergines and pat dry. Heat a cast-iron griddle pan and spray lightly with olive oil. Fry each of the aubergine slices briefly on both sides until lightly charred and tender. Set aside.

6. Whisk the raw egg into the cheese sauce.

7. Begin layering like a lasagna. Ideally you should have a layer of meat, then aubergines, then meat, then aubergines, then meat, then the cheese sauce. However I ran out of meat and had to put the cheese sauce on top of a layer of aubergines, oops! This should not make a huge difference but it won't look as attractive.

8. Bake at 180 Celsius for 45 mins approx, until bubbly and golden. If you are baking it from cold (as I will be) allow another 15 minutes or so for the cooking time.

Eat with a chunky salad!