“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.”
Ingredients
6mediumzucchini
vegetable oil cooking spray
6tablespoonsolive oil
1largeonion, chopped finely
4garlic cloves, minced
1lblean ground beef
1 (8ounce) cans tomato sauce
1largeripe tomato, cut into pieces
1 banana peppers or 1jalapeno pepper
1bay leaf
1/4 teaspoonbeau monde seasoning
1tablespoonhoney
pepper
1/4 teaspoonoregano( dried)
10fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspooncinnamon
1/2 teaspoonallspice
1cup2% fat cottage cheese
1/4 cupmarsala wine
1/4 cupfresh grated parmesan cheese (use imported) or 1/4 cupromano cheese( use imported)
2tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped or 2teaspoonsdried parsley
Directions
Peel the zucchini and slice into 1/2-inch rounds.
Heat a skillet and spray with the veggie oil.
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.
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.
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.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat a little oil and brown the mushrooms, then add them to the meat and mix well.
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.
Sprinkle with the cheese and bake for 1 hour in a 350°F oven.
Remove from oven, sprinkle with the parsley, serve.
Reviews
“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.”
“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.”
“Easy, inexpensive and full of flavor.Beau monde can be found in the spice section of any large grocery store.It is a blend.”
“Very tasty and good, but the recipe could be better written. What is “beau monde” seasoning?”
