Mighty Good Moussaka

Bergy's Note:

There are many Moussaka recipes but I have found none as good as this recipe. Originally it was from "The complete Garlic Lovers Cookbook from Gilroy, the Garlic Capital of the World" I made a few minor changes and this recipe is the result. I've never had anyone turn down seconds and have served it at least a dozen times.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 50 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 6 medium zucchini
• vegetable oil cooking spray
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped finely
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 large ripe tomato, cut into pieces
• 1 banana peppers or 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon beau monde seasoning
• 1 tablespoon honey
• pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano (dried)
• 10 fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 cup 2% fat cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup marsala wine
• 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese (use imported) or 1/4 cup romano cheese (use imported)
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped or 2 teaspoons dried parsley

Directions:

1. Peel the zucchini and slice into 1/2-inch rounds.
2. Heat a skillet and spray with the veggie oil.
3. Quickly brown the zucchini slices on both sides, spray with oil as necessary Arrange half the zucchini slices in an oiled 9x12x2-inch baking dish.
4. Heat the olive oil in the same skillet and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. Add meat, stir to break up any lumps, and cook for about 5 minutes.
5. In a saucepan heat the tomato sauce, tomato pieces, bay leaf, beau monde, honey, oregano, chili pepper and black pepper. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat a little oil and brown the mushrooms, then add them to the meat and mix well.
7. Pour all of the meat mixture over the zucchini slices. Top with cinnamon, allspice and cottage cheese. Cover with remaining zucchini slices, then the tomato sauce and wine.
8. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake for 1 hour in a 350°F oven.
9. Remove from oven, sprinkle with the parsley, serve.

Reviews

[bratty]

i've had this in my cookbook forever, and just now got around to making it. i made this with eggplant instead of zucchini. it was great. a little bit of work, but well worth the effort. we love eggplant, but never had it prepared this way. the flavors blended wonderfully. i will definatley make this one again. i took leftovers to my mom's house, she swooned over it too, so consider this one, two, 5-star reviews. a keeper for sure, bergy.

[Tea Jenny]

Wow! this was so so good, I used the zucchini as I had a good harvest from the garden, it takes a bit of time to put together but it's so worth it when you have it all in one dish and a nice salad on the side I loved it, and I even made the seasoning from scratch, which I had left over for next time. Very very nice dinner. I will be making this one again.

[Vicki in AZ]

Easy, inexpensive and full of flavor. Beau monde can be found in the spice section of any large grocery store. It is a blend.