Clean Moussaka

We all have our favourite dishes that we crave and I strongly believe that with a little bit of thought anything we eat can be made healthier without compromising too much on flavour. I've applied this approach to one of my favourite Greek holiday dishes. My minor ammendments to this traditional recipe save a failry significant amount of the 'bad calories' you might otherwise consume.

Don't beat yourself up too much about the butter and parmesan either in this recipe. Clearly the dish would be healthier without them but overall the net improvement on the original recipe is significant. On the plus side whilst butter has more saturated fat than margerine it is a more natural 'cleaner' product and Parmesan offers perhaps the lowest saturated fat cheese option with the benefit of being high in protein, calcium, phosphorus, vitamins B2 & B12, zinc and magnesium.

Ingredients

3 Aubergines
Hemp Oil
2 Onions
2 Cloves of Garlic
1kg Lean Mince Lamb
1 tablespoon of Tomato Puree
1 200g tin Chopped Tomatoes
1 teaspoon of Cinamon
1 teaspoon of All Spice
1 handful of Fresh Thyme Leaves
2 teaspoons of Oregano
2 Bay Leaves
Rock Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 Pint Semi-Skimmed Milk or Milk Substitute
3 oz Organic Butter
3 oz Brown Rice Flour
50g Fresh Grated Parmesan
2 Organic Egg Yolks

Directions

1. Slice the aubergines into approx 0.5 cm thick slices
2. Brush with a little Hemp Oil on both sides and grill on both sides until brown – set aside
3. Chop onions and cloves of garlic
4. Fry onions and garlic in coconut oil for 3-5 minutes until soft but not brown
5. Add mince lamb and brown
6. Add tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, cinnamon, all spice, thyme leaves, oregano, bay leaves, salt, pepper. Stir and bring to the boil before lowering heat to a simmer for 30 minutes
7. Meanwhile, melt butter in a pan.
8. Once melted add brown rice flour and stir to a paste
9. Slowly Milk stirring constantly, maintain heat until sauce thickens
10. Add rock salt and pepper and 50g fresh grated parmesan  to the milk, butter and flour sauce.
11. Leave sauce to cool for 20 minutes then beat in 2 organic egg yolks
12. In a deep dish, pour the cooked meat sauce and aubergine in layers, finish with the cheese sauce
13. Bake for 30 minutes at 180 in a pre-heated oven