After a delicious meal at Ezo’s Turkish Restaurant last weekend, I decided to have a go at making mousakka myself. This new take on the classic recipe uses red lentils and aubergines. In total, it takes about an hour, but it’s well worth it!
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
Serves: 4
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Ingredients:
For the filling:
- 1 aubergine, sliced into thin circles
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 red pepper, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tsp tomato purée
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 100g red lentils, cooked according to packet instructions
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the topping:
- 125g ricotta
- 125g Greek yoghurt
- 3 eggs
- freshly grated nutmeg
- 50g freshly grated parmesan
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Toss the aubergine slices in olive oil, then drain and season to taste.
- Fry the aubergine slices until golden-brown on both sides.
- Add the onion, pepper and garlic to the pan and fry until softened.
- Stir in the tomato purée and continue to fry for a further 5 minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and cinnamon stick and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the lentils and fried aubergines to the mixture. Simmer until warmed through.
- Transfer the mixture to an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
- For the topping, beat together the ricotta, Greek yoghurt, eggs and grated nutmeg in a bowl. Season, to taste.
- Pour the topping mixture into the ovenproof dish on top of the filling. Sprinkle over the grated parmesan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the topping is golden-brown. Serve immediately.
Yummy!