As you could have figured out by now, I like taking traditional recipes and changing them up to make them either healthier or fit my blood type. No matter how much one can get used to eating healthy, you miss the food you used to eat from time to time. I always loved moussaka and I’ve missed it quite a lot since I stopped eating potatoes. And this is how I came to the idea of making moussaka with sweet instead of regular potatoes. I also opted for minced lamb meat since it’s really beneficial to my blood type. This moussaka can of course be made with beef or pork minced meat or a combination of the two. It can also be made using regular potatoes following the same instructions but cooking them for additional 5 – 10 minutes.
Ingredients (serves 1):
180 g minced lamb meat
½ medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
Olive oil
1 medium zucchini
½ medium sweet potato
1 – 2 tbsp sour cream
1 egg
Salt
Cayenne pepper
Sweet paprika
Thyme
Instructions:
1. Heat a non-stick pan with some olive oil to medium heat. Add onions and cook until golden brown. Add garlic and give it a quick stir before adding the minced lamb meat. Season with salt and cayenne pepper and cook for about 20 minutes. Right at the end, add about 2 tsp sweet paprika, stir and set aside.
2. Peel the sweet potato and cut it into thin circles. This is best done using a mandolin slicer. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil, add the sweet potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes.
3. Peel the zucchini and slice it into small circles using a mandolin slicer. Heat a medium pan with olive oil, add sliced zucchini and cook for 10 – 15 minutes. Season with salt and thyme and set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
5. Grease a ceramic baking dish with some olive oil. Spread half of the cooked sweet potatoes evenly across the baking dish. Cover with lamb meat, followed by zucchini and finish with another layer of sweet potatoes.
6. Whisk together the egg and sour cream until smooth. Pour over the moussaka and distribute evenly.
7. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Serve immediately.
I’m just stopping by to finally say thanks for this idea. I prepared it 3 times already in these past few months. The whole family enjoys this a lot. I use ground turkey though. This time, I didn’t have enough, so I put half cooked lentils and some tomato sauce as well, and it worked out just fine. The first time I didn’t bother to cook the sweet potatoes, thought they’d cook through in the oven, but BOY was I wrong! They were still raw and I had to cook for much longer, while pouring over them with butter. (I just don’t understand how that’s possible, since the same vegetable gets completely mushy when chopped up and baked on its own for half an hour?!).
Also, I play around and add some spices; a bit of nutmeg, curry, dried basil and dill. I’m not enough of a professional cook to understand what they do and if they fit in there, but it works for us!
Thanks again. This has become a staple in our house. I never would have thought to put sweet potatoes in moussaka, but it works taste-wise and it’s such a healthier swap.
I am so happy to hear that! I also wasn’t sure it would work at first but I really love moussaka and I really wanted to not use regular potatoes 🙂 and the spices always make everything so delicious! Hope you enjoy it and my other recipes with your family often!