Healthy and Easy Moussaka

I love Greek food but other than Greek salad and hummus, I don't ever really get Greek in the kitchen---usually I'll head to Pasparos (North Vancouver) or Stepho's (Davie St.) to get my fix. One of my go to orders for Greek is Moussaka- beefy, eggplanty, cheesy goodness. But I've always been intimidated by all of the cheese and the idea of making a "bechamel" sauce on top.

I decided to break down the elements and do a simple, less cheesy (and use low-fat soy feta) version, and after researching into bechamel- it didn't seem very hard to screw up.

So here is what I whipped up:
1 fresh eggplant

1 medium zuchini
8 oz lean ground sirloin beef(100 % Canadian) *I'm trying to get my iron levels up! http://www.beefinfo.org/Default.aspx?ID=13&ArticleID=92&SecID=3
3 cups low sodium chopped canned tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
1tsp chilli flakes
1/2 cup flour
1 cup skim/unflavoured soy/ almond milk
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/2 cup soy feta cheese, crumbled


Slice eggplant and zuchinnii very thinly (i used a mandolin).

Brown ground beef with onion and garlic.
When brown, add tomatoes, oregano, parsley, chilli flakes. Let simmer for 15 minutes.
Layer eggplant/zuchini, then meat mixture in medium casserole pan or loaf dish, ending with meat mixture on top.
In a seperate, small pot, add milk to clean saucepan and slowly stir in flour a little at a time until sauce thickens. Add feta and parmesan cheese and whisk or stir brin.
Pour white sauce over the casserole.
Bake at 350 degrees until top starts to turn golden brown approx 30 minutes
Number of Servings: 8


Enjoy the Greek Goodness!!! Making Moussaka is not scary!


By the way, the recipe also enters me into a contest to go away to a food blogger retreat in Washington, DC called Eat, Write, Retreat www.eatwriteretreat.com. It would be amazing and the weekend of a lifetime - keep your fingers crossed for me!