Not Your Grandma's Moussaka

Not my grandma's moussaka - mine only made parmigiana.

This is a variation on a theme: Given that the garden has offered up a small bounty of eggplant and the given the fact that I am no Greek, I am still going to call tonight's dinner "moussaka".

I am a bit lazy, and always trying to find shortcuts. So here goes:

Take a couple of Italian eggplants and a few Japanese eggplants, peel them leaving just a little of the skin. I halve the Italians lengthwise, slice them all in about quarter inch slices, toss them with some olive oil in a roasting pan with salt, pepper, chopped garlic. Put them in the oven at 400 for about 30-35 minutes, tossing once during the cooking. (Most recipes call for frying the slices - which would take time - this way you can get the other ingredients ready while the eggplant is in the oven.)

2 Italians and 3 Japanese

Sautee a diced onion, a couple of small chopped cubanelle peppers and a diced hot pepper in a little olive oil.

Remove the mixture and into the fry pan put a pound of ground beef and a pound of Italian sausage meat.

After the meat is cooked through, drain off the grease, return the onion mixture to the pan, add a can of tomato puree, a little water, chopped fresh basil, fresh parsley, and fresh oregano. A little salt and pepper. Let the meat cook in the sauce for thirty minutes or so.

Roasted Eggplant

Meanwhile make the béchamel sauce.

My philosophy used to be "more is better" and I and Leon would certainly eat more. We are watching things now since Leon has lost over fifty pounds and I was down thirty. So my new philosophy is "less is almost as good." So I went a little easy on the béchamel which in some moussaka recipes is a layer of  up to a half inch. Compared to that, mine is a drizzle.

2 tablespoons of butter, melted and hot in the saucepan, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour until the flour forms a paste. 

Slowly add 1and 1/2 cups of 1% milk (I don't bother warming the milk - I'm lazy). Continue to whisk until the sauce thickens.

Add a dash of nutmeg. Remove from heat. Add about 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese. (Don't add the parmesan while the sauce is over the heat or you will produce a congealed mess.)

(Of course I didn't get a photo of the finished béchamel)

Distribute the tomato meat sauce over the roasted eggplant. Top with the béchamel, a little crumbled low fat feta and some Italian flavored breadcrumbs. 

Moussaka usually has a thick layer of Béchamel (calories)

Bake in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes or until heated through and bubbling hot.

Serve with a salad - tonight is green bean salad.

Steam the fresh green beans just until barely cooked. Rinse in ice cold water. In a bowl mix a little olive oil, a dash of balsamic vinegar, some chopped garlic and toss in the cooked green beans. You can add some fresh tomatoes if you like. Chill in the fridge or serve at room temperature.

We are foregoing the crusty Italian bread tonight - (carbs and calories), but it would definitely be my choice.

A Lower Fat Mac and Cheese

I am on a low-fat "diet"- lowering my fat intake for the doc.

I was making broiled fish tonight and thought fennel would be an excellent accompaniment because of its delicate anise/liquorice flavor. My favorite fennel recipe is the one with bechamel sauce - basically the same sauce you would use as a base for mac and cheese. And I happened to have a little cooked pasta (plain without any sauce) - about 2 cups of cooked pasta -  left from the other night.

So I came up with a nice side dish - Mac and Cheese with Fennel.

For the fennel, I first sauteed two large fennel bulbs that I cut into eighths, in a little olive oil, garlic and dry vermouth - but with only a smidgen of olive oil.

For the sauce I used about 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter or less and 2 tablespoons of flour (usually the proportion is 1:1 but this will just barely work - the roux may be a bit dry, but oh well, I am cutting down on fat.

I added 1% milk a bit at a time, letting the sauce thicken each time until the sauce achieved the proper consistency. Off the heat - you don't want the parmesan clumping -  I added about 4 oz of fat-free feta cheese and about 1/4 cup of grated parmesan (parmigiano) and a few grates of black pepper. Forgot the nutmeg, but you can add a little if you like.

I put the sauce over the pasta and fennel, dusted with bread crumbs and baked it at 350 until the top browned. The flavors all go well together, the anise vegetable and the chew of the pasta with melted cheese sauce. Scrumptious. I don't miss the taste of sharp cheddar which is my usual base along with whatever other cheese I have on hand, including sour cream. talk about FAT. This, on the other hand is very low on fat and just as tasty I think.

If you like you can  use broccoli or other vegetable in place of the fennel - I've often added broccoli to my mac and cheese but this version uses more vegetable than pasta, less fatty cheese and so it is "healthier" of course.

This makes about 4 servings - but I could easily eat half the recipe. I restrained myself however and had only one fourth of the casserole. There's always tomorrow.

Dinner's ready! Buon appetito!

Thanksgiving Dinner - Fennel With Béchamel Side Dish

Finocchi e Funghi Gratinati Con Salsa Besciamella

This recipe appeared in a now defunct magazine called "Attenzione" back in the early 1980's. We have been having this for Thanksgiving for many years now - at least in those years when I do the meal. It is good any time and Leon likes it a lot. The original recipe does not have mushrooms, that is my addition - makes the dish "stretch" a bit.

These Are The Tops of The Fennel
Sorry, I Forgot to Get A Picture of the "Bulbs"
Before Slicing Them Up

Fennel or Anise is a celery-like vegetable with a mild licorice taste.  The large bulbous bottom is the part we eat; the celery like stalks can be used to flavor a pork roast.  It is great in green salads, tuna fish salad, or braised like in this recipe.

Cut the tops and bottoms off three large fennel "bulbs" and cut the bulbs into quarters or, if very large, smaller.

Braise The Fennel

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet with 2 garlic cloves, add the fennel, 1/2 cup of dry vermouth and a little water. Allow to braise for about 10 minutes or a little longer, until the fennel is just this side of tender.  Remove to a casserole without the juices.  Braise some sliced white mushrooms in the juices until just cooked.  Transfer the mushrooms to the casserole with fennel. Leave out the juices or the dish will be too watery.

Mushrooms

Salsa Besciamella:  Melt 3 tbs. butter in a saucepan.  Add 3 tbs. of flour and whisk until blended and just cooked, not browned.  Add 2 1/2 cups of warm milk, 1/2 tsp salt.  Whisk over medium heat until the sauce thickens. Add some ground (white) pepper (I only have black) and ground nutmeg, about 1/4 tsp. or so, and a good 4 tbs. of grated parmesan cheese.

Besciamella - Béchamel

Pour the sauce over the vegetables and top with more parmesan and bread crumbs.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or so, until golden brown and bubbly.  If you prepare it ahead and have it refrigerated, adjust the time in the oven.

Before Baking

Out Of The Oven

We kept it simple: Turkey, Stuffing, Fennel, Sweet Potato, White Potato and of course Pies.  See stuffing on last post.

Stuffed Bird

Re-stuffed Sweet Potato

All American Mashed Potato

Home Made Rolls

Note: Finocchio (Fennel or Anise) is the Italian, rather derogatory, slang term for gay.