Day 23 - Slow Start Saturday

I did indeed have a slow start today which may have resulted from my late night Wii action, in order to get my Day 17 workout in before the clock struck midnight.  This in turn meant I skipped breakfast and went straight to lunch and another sweet potato and salad special. It does seem to fill me up and is light on the whole calorie front.  I then spent the rest of the afternoon doing interview prep for Tuesday, although I suspect the bulk will be done tomorrow afternoon as I'm better under pressure.  I also looked through my fellow food bloggers postings and other recipe sites  to gain inspiration on what to cook that evening. Gerry was returning later after working a high profile talent show and would probably be quite hungry as it would have been a busy day.

I settled on a Vegetable Moussaka.  It was a tight call between that and scallops, which I absolutely adore but they were far away in the supermarket and the veggie ingredients were right near me in the fridge.  Plus Gerry is a fan and I thought it would be healthy option. I searched through quite a few recipes from various sites and they all had elements I wanted to incorporate so I went off piste to create my own. It was a bit of an experiment as to how it would turn out as although I've made moussaka many times this was my first all veggie alternative.

I used the following ingredients:

For the Filling:

• 1 small aubergine, sliced into 1cm rounds, salted and weighted down for 30mins before rinsing
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 courgette, sliced into 1cm rounds
• 1/2 red pepper
• 1 small tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tsp tomato puree
• 50g dried Puy lentils
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 pinches ground cinnamon
• 2 pinches ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• Spray Olive Oil
• 200ml water

For the White Sauce:

• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 150ml skimmed milk
• 1 tsp butter
• 25g grated cheddar cheese
• 1 pinch nutmeg

For the Aubergine Slices:

• I preheated the grill to 180C. I put the aubergine slices on a grill pan and sprayed with olive oil. These went under the grill until both sides were nicely browned and tender. I find this way healthier than frying as they absorb far less oil but it is slightly more time-consuming.

For the Tomato & Lentil Filling:

• Meanwhile, I softened the onion and garlic in the olive oil before adding the courgettes and pepper for 2-3mins until cooked. I then added the lentils, chopped tomatoes, herbs, spices, tomato puree and water.  I brought the whole thing to the boil before covering and simmering for around 30 mins or so until the lentils were cooked. Add more water if the mixture becomes too dry. Finally I added seasoning to taste.  The filling is now done.

For the white cheesy sauce:

• I melted the butter in a small pan before adding flour, cooking for 1 min, stirring continuously and making a paste.  I then removed the pan from the heat. Next, I slowly added some of the milk but only as much as the paste could absorb, to make a slightly smoother paste. I repeated this step with a little more milk for a creamy consistency before gradually stirring in the remaining milk and returning the the heat. I brought this to the boil and stirred constantly until the sauce thickened. I then added the grated cheese and a pinch of nutmeg.

Time for layering up the entire thing. I intended on using individual dishes but I wasn't sure if it would all fit so went for one large dish in the end. I spooned half the tomato lentil mixture into the bottom of an ovenproof dish and laid half the aubergine slices on top.  I then repeated the process until all the mixture and aubergines were in the dish. I poured the cheese sauce over the top and popped it into the oven for around 25mins, then under the grill for 5mins to make sure the cheese was nice and crispy.

I took it out of the oven to rest for around 10mins because I know trying to eat something like this when it is boiling hot is near on impossible and burnt taste buds will ruin a meal for me. Leaving it to a eatable temperature will let the flavours mingle a little more and make for a much more enjoyable experience.  Served with a babyleaf salad.

The Finished Article