Skinny chicken moussaka
on Sep 27, 2014, Updated Jun 25, 2020
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OK, confession time. I try to eat healthily most of the time, or at least like to think that I do, but I really fell off the smug healthy eater bandwagon this past Tuesday. Mr. Scrummy and I were meeting a friend for dinner, so I decided not to eat too much at lunchtime. Not because I thought I shouldn’t, but simply because I had a lot to do that day and in my twisted way of thinking I thought I could pretty much skip lunch and get on with my jobs instead, especially as we’d be eating a large meal that night.
So, off I went to a café to do some work on my laptop. I wasn’t hungry at all … until about half an hour after I sat down, that is. Then just as the stomach started growling big time, I spotted someone being brought potato wedges with sweet chili sauce and sour cream. Yum. My mouth started watering and so yes, I did give in and order some. They were absolutely delicious, of course. Mr. Scrummy and I used to order a portion to share regularly, but these seemed crispier and tastier than ever and with a larger portion of sauces than usual. I ate far too many and even burnt both my mouth and my fingers in my haste to gobble them up.
So that night at the restaurant (a mere two hours or so later, I’m ashamed to admit) I wasn’t hungry, of course. At all. In fact, I had a bit of a stomach ache. I ordered a salad and enjoyed it, but felt a little annoyed with myself for having destroyed my appetite in a moment of complete lack of self-control earlier on. Even worse, I didn’t admit it to Mr. Scrummy (I told you it was confession time – sorry Mr. Scrummy, if you’re reading this!)
Anyway, to sort of make up for that humungous dish of wedges I scoffed, I decided to keep the next day’s moussaka light. When I was living in Greece, moussaka was always my very favourite meal to order in a taverna. I loved the layers of smoky aubergine (that’s eggplant to you), rich tomato-ey meat sauce and thick béchamel topping. I even made it myself a few times, but I always found it fairly time-consuming. It’s also a relatively heavy, oily dish – or at least it is the way it’s usually made in Greece.
Enter this much lighter, easier to make version! You still need a little chunk of time to put this together (about half an hour to make the three layers and forty minutes or so to bake it) but it feels really simple. You basically just cut 2 aubergines into slices and bake them for about 25 minutes. While they’re baking, you make a simple tomato ragu sauce with chicken mince (Turkey would be fine too) flavoured with oregano, cinnamon and garlic and an equally as simple ‘béchamel’ topping out of Greek yoghurt, eggs and parmesan cheese. I always found making a flour-and-milk-based béchamel sauce for my moussaka a bit of a pain when I’d already worked hard on the other 2 layers, so I find this yoghurt topping the perfect lazy substitute. The big bonus is that by doing this, and of course by using chicken mince instead of beef or lamb, you cut out quite a lot of fat and calories, too.
Another great thing about this is that it’s one of those dishes that seems to taste better the next day, so heat up leftovers in the microwave for about 3 or 4 minutes for a perfect next-day lunch!
So I definitely learnt a valuable lesson this week – don’t eat a big stack of fried potatoes just before going out for a meal. Would you own up to your significant other if you did something like this?
Skinny chicken moussaka
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplant/aubergines, cut into even 1/2 cm-thick slices
- olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 17 ounces minced chicken, or turkey
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree mixed with 1 cup water
- 1 cup red or white wine
- salt and pepper
- bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
For the yoghurt ‘béchamel’ topping
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- 1 1/4 cup Greek yoghurt, 2% fat
- 2 eggs, lightly whisked
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- a generous pinch of ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Lay the eggplant/aubergine slices on large baking trays and brush each side with a little olive oil. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the slices are soft and floppy.
- Meanwhile, start making your chicken ragu sauce. Start by softening your onion for a few minutes in a little olive oil, then add the garlic, cinnamon & oregano and cook and stir for a couple more minutes.
- Add the chicken to the pan and brown while breaking up with a wooden spoon. Then add the tomato puree & water and wine. Let the sauce simmer gently until it has thickened (about 20 to 30 minutes). At the last minute, add in the parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
- To make the topping, place the cornflour in a medium bowl and slowly mix in the yoghurt until the mixture is smooth and there are no lumps. Then mix in the eggs well and add the nutmeg.
- Now you’re ready to assemble your moussaka! (I used an 11 by 7 inch baking dish, but slightly larger would probably be ideal) Start with a layer of eggplant/aubergine slices, followed by half of the ragu sauce, another layer of eggplant/aubergine, another layer of meat and a final layer of eggplant/aubergine. Finally, pour the yoghurt topping over the top and smooth it out.
- Bake for forty to forty-five minutes or until the topping is golden and bubbling (cover it with aluminium foil if it gets too dark). Leave the moussaka to rest for half an hour before serving (so that the pieces stay together better when you cut and serve them).
Notes
Nutrition
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I hate when I spoil my dinner! That usually happens at dinner parties when there are a ton of delicious appetizers. I over indulge, and then when it’s time for dinner I’m already stuffed!
This chicken moussaka sounds delicious! Whenever I order it at Greek restaurants, I think of the joke from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where the girl thinks she calls it Moose Caca. Ha!
Oh, me too!!! I laughed so hard at that film. You’ve made me want to watch it again!
I have never made a moussaka before but I have eaten a few and I love it! I think it is time to give it a try with yours! It looks so good, bad idea to look at your blog at 11.45am at work… How am I going to make it another 15 minutes :)?
I have a problem with self control too and I don’t admit it to hubby all the time… Is that bad? 🙂
Amazing recipe as always Helen! Pinning!
Thanks for pinning, Melanie, and for the lovely comment. Oh, please do make a moussaka some time … you’ll love it! Once you get the hang of it, it’s really not difficult at all!
This is exactly how I make my moussaka too. I love the yoghurt topping.
Really? Snap!!! Yoghurt topping rocks!
Ahh! Guilt feeling after eating potato wedges.. haha… I get that feeling every other day.. :p This Moussaka looks utterly delicious!!! I love the healthy yogurt topping.. Yumm!!
It’s actually my husband that got me onto eating those … so I blame him … haha!
I’ve completely fallen off the healthy eating wagon the past couple of weeks also! I think it’s the time of year, at least I hope. I just made a big healthy quinoa salad that I’m hoping will help me stay on the healthy eating side of things this week. I love the way you lightened this up and using chicken (or turkey) is a great idea!
So glad you approve of this, Lou! Good luck with the big quinoa salad. Sounds like I should take a big leaf out of your book and do the same!
Helen there’s absolutely no way I would be able to refrain from ordering hips with sweet chilli and sour cream, that’s the absolute best snack ever!!!! Never feel guilty about having chips.
Loving the addition of chicken to traditional moussaka.
Hi, Mariana … I love your advice! I think I’ll go there and order those chips again … just maybe not right before a huge dinner out!
Glad you like the moussaka makeover!
You had me at “confession time” and I had to read more!! Ha!
Helen, I am a health blogger and I give in to a tasty treat sometimes too! And, for me, that would be a plate of potatoes any day – not really dessert. If you enjoyed it, I don’t think you ruined your appetite at all! Maybe you would have enjoyed that as much or even more than what you could have ordered that night! And, yes, I would admit to the Mr. because he would just smile and laugh at me about it.
This recipe looks great. Love the short cuts!
Ha! I love your approach, Lori! I think you might be onto something there. sometimes (not always of course) our bodies tell us what we’re really craving. And I ended up with a salad in the end that night, which was really healthy.
Glad you like the lightened-up moussaka and I hope you try it some time 🙂
haha oh man … I hate when you get hangryyy too close to before a meal! And then spoil your dinner (or whatever it is!).
But I’m loving the sound of this dish! I love meals with eggplant and am always looking for new ways to use it!
Glad I’m not the only one, Ashley!
I love eggplant, too, and this is definitely my favourite way to use it!
This is probably the best looking moussaka I have ever seen and the best part about it is the lightened up recipe. Thanks for sharing it Helen!
Aw, thanks for the lovely compliment, Thalia! The tip to a good-looking moussaka is to leave it for half an hour to ‘rest’ after you’ve cooked it … then the pieces stay together beautifully!
So glad you like it!
Oh Moussaka, c’est un plat tellement bon ! Accompagné de un bon vin rouge, c’est un délice J’aime beaucoup ! Le tien il pareil parfait! pas trop calorique et avec le même aspect gourmand qu’un moussaka classique.
Je bien rigolé avec ton histoire de restaurant, maintenant to mari il sait toute la vérité 😉
Oui, ca c’est la mauvaise nouvelle … je l’ai pas cache tres bien!!
Tu as raison que le moussaka serait parfait avec un bon vin rouge … merci pour le conseil! 🙂