Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Hot Mess

No… I’m not talking about myself. I’m talking about this fantastic dinner I made the other night and subsequently have been eating the leftovers from for the past three nights. That’s good for something because this girl usually can’t stomach eating leftovers more than one time.

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Isn’t it a beauty?

I kid.

But who cares when it tastes incredible and leaves me so full and satisfied?

Not me.

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As a Foodbuzz Tastemaker, I received these three bottles of Crisco Olive Oil at no cost to sample and review. You know I love olive oil, I use it all the time. So, as you can imagine, I was pretty psyched. I was sent Crisco’s Pure Olive Oil, Extra Virgin and Light. As you can see in this picture, I cracked open the Pure. It sounded like the perfect one to use for roasting the veggies in the above dish.

Oh yes, more about that. What you see there is Vegetable Moussaka. Apparently Moussaka is a “Greek favorite”. Anyone out there who is Greek/more worldly than me (probably most everyone), is probably rolling his or her eyes. But listen, I’d never heard of Moussaka and fortunately now I have because this is going to be a regular around here.

Vegetable Moussaka adapted from The Illustrated Kitchen Bible

Ingredients:

  • 1 large eggplant, cubed
  • 1 medium zucchini, cubed
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
  • 4 T Crisco Pure Olive Oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 t dried Thyme
  • 1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 15 oz can lentils, drained
  • 1 1/4 c plain non-fat yogurt (or Greek if you have it)
  • 2 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
  • pinch of paprika
  • 3 oz feta cheese, crumbled
  • 2 T sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss eggplant, zucchini and red peppers into roasting pan. Drizzle with oil and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme. Continue roasting for 35 minutes or until tender. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Stir in tomatoes with juices and lentils into roasted vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a four quart baking dish.

Beat the yogurt, eggs and paprika together and season with salt and pepper (if desired). Spread over vegetables and sprinkle with feta. Place on baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 10 minutes more, or until top is golden brown. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 4-6 servings.

10 comments:

  1. I would definitely enjoy that for days and days of leftovers. Has so many of my favorite things! Tomatoes, eggplant, feta! I've been having days and days worth of pot roast.

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  2. The only moussaka I've had was the traditional lamb and eggplant kind, and I remember it as bland mush. Your tastemaker version sounds far more supreme!

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  3. You should be a happy gal--this is probably the only time in your life you will get free oil! I am so stingy with my extra virgin olive oil because it's so expensive. I've never had Moussaka before but the ingredients make it sound intriguing and of course, exotic. I don't need my food to be pretty though, taste always trumphs looks!

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  4. Yes, the cookbook mentioned that it was a variation from the traditional lamb dish (lentils replace the lamb). I just think roasted eggplant is the best. I ate about 10 pieces straight out of the oven.

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  5. It's seriously one of the first things I could eat day after day. Tomorrow's lunch will make meal #4!

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  6. I know right! I thought I was going to get one little baby bottle. I was pretty stoked (though at the time when I saw the package I hoped it was the margarita and cosmo mix I just ordered).

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  7. Free olive oil? Score! This looks amazing. I'm a big fan of leftovers.

    Um...drinks soon? Email me.

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  8. This looks awesome! I love when I find leftovers I love.

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  9. I love moussaka but never had a veggie version - this sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  10. I've heard of but never made or eaten moussaka, so no eye-rolling here! Besides...it's usually greasy and heavy and cheesy and makes you feel like putting on pants with an elastic waistband...whereas this looks healthy and delicious and amazing. Score.

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