I would like just to let you know from the beginning; this is not a traditional moussaka. I only made this dish twice as it has been recommended by one of our friends, and I decided to test out this new Delicious Paleo Moussaka Recipe. It looks like mini lasagna layered with lamb, eggplant, cheese, and tomato sauce. What I did was get rid of the potatoes and cheese, and I’ve added some zucchini and a delicious crust. Kind of like paleo moussaka meets shepherd’s pie meets pot pie.
You can also use eggplant for this paleo moussaka recipe, but when I first did it, it was with zucchini, and it worked pretty good for me. What I did use was ground lamb, you can always use whatever you have leftover or another cooked meat. What I do recommend is to try it out with rotisserie chicken. What I can assure you is that This Delicious Paleo Moussaka Recipe is a tasty dinner to enjoy.
Delicious Paleo Moussaka Recipe
Ingredients
1 pound eggplant (brinjal, aubergine, or guinea squash)- 1 pound zucchini squash
- 1 ½ cups almond meal - or flour
- 1-2 medium eggs - pastured
- 1 large white onion - diced
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 pound ground lamb (minced lamb) - cooked
- ½ cup chicken stock (chicken broth or chicken bouillon) - or beef stock
- 2 cups Neapolitan Sauce or Pasta sauce Southern Hemisphere (Tomato Sauce in North America)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice (also called pimento or Jamaican Pepper)
- 1 pinch Sea salt - to taste
- 1 pinch ground black pepper - to taste
- ¼ cup parsley - flat-leaf Italian parsley, minced
- 1 splash coconut oil
TO MAKE THE CRUST:
- 2 ½ cups almond flour - blanched
- 2 tablespoons butter - pastured, chilled
- 1 medium egg
- ½ teaspoon Sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Prepare two shallow rimmed baking sheets by coating them lightly with coconut oil.
- Peel the eggplant and cut it into 1/2 inch slices. Season liberally with salt and place in a colander. Cover with an inverted plate and top with a heavy jar. Set in the sink to drain for 30-60 minutes. Squeeze any moisture drops from eggplant and wipe salt with a paper towel. Cut the slices into quarters.
- Peel the zucchini, remove seeds (if large), and cut them into 1/2-inch thick slices. Leave the slices whole if the zucchini is small, or halve or quarter the slices if using a larger zucchini.
- In a small bowl, beat egg and about 1 Tbsp water with a fork until frothy. Place 1/2 cup almond meal or flour in another bowl.
- Dip each slice of zucchini and eggplant in the egg wash, then in the almond flour. Continue to add almond flour to the bowls, as needed—place “breaded” vegetables on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven.
- Reduce heat to 350ºF.
- While veggies cook, saute onion in a little coconut oil until translucent, add garlic and continue to saute until fragrant. Add broth, tomato sauce, parsley, and spices and simmer for 5 minutes.
- To make the crust, add almond flour, butter, egg, and salt in the bowl of a food processor, process until a soft dough forms. Transfer to a sheet of parchment and use your hands to form a ball.
- Top with another sheet of parchment, press down, and use a rolling pin to form dough to a 1/4-inch thick circle.
- To assemble, layer eggplant, lamb mixture, and zucchini in a deep-dish pie pan or casserole dish. Repeat layers until all ingredients are depleted. Flip the parchment so that the crust is on top of the layers (this is kind of tricky). Use your fingers to trim and press the edges. Cut a small slit in the center to vent the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
