Do you happen to have a package of ground lamb in the freezer? Here’s a quick and easy dinner if you’ve also got some zucchini and cottage cheese. Oh, did I lose you there at cottage cheese? You’ll never know, hardly, that there’s cottage cheese in the topping. I promise.
If you’ve ever had moussaka, made the long, laborious way (making a sauce and with a lamb stew kind of thing, plus eggplant), then you know the deliciousness of it (and it’s a lot of work). It’s kind of like Moussaka is to Greece as lasagna is to Italy. They’re similar, although lasagna has pasta in it. This dish has almost no carbs, just meat, vegetables and cheese and dairy. The limited carbs come from the cottage cheese (some), the yogurt or sour cream (some) and the tomato sauce (which is pure carbs because tomatoes are a fruit), though there’s only an 8-ounce can of the sauce in the whole casserole.
The other day I was looking up a recipe I did for my blog when it was brand-spanking new in 2007. And I started off the first paragraph talking about the dish being a casserole. And then (9 years ago) I swear the word casserole, in food circles, was an anathema. As if it was something bad that only your ancient great grandmother would make. I’m glad to see that casseroles are making a comeback – in fact I bought a cookbook a few years ago all about new-fangled casseroles.
This casserole is a revision of a recipe I posted here, years ago also – Easy Ground Beef Moussaka. It’s a winner of a quick recipe, and one that I’ve made dozens of times over the years. You briefly cook the zucchini and put it in the bottom of a 9×9 baking dish, then you cook meat with onion, garlic and spices, then add in some canned tomato sauce. That goes on top of the zucchini. Then you make the super-easy topping (cottage cheese, yogurt or sour cream, egg, Feta, and Parmesan) and it’s spread on top with another sprinkling of Parm on the very top.
So THIS RECIPE, I just revised it a bit by using ground LAMB. The zucchini is the same (see picture above), the filling is the same (although I added in some different herbs and spices – I added some dried mint to the meat mixture which is different) and the topping is identical (see the uncooked dish at right). I should have invited somebody to come for dinner, because it made plenty for about 5 people, I think. A salad on the side and maybe some bread is all you’d need for a complete meal. I didn’t make a salad or have bread – the serving of this dish was ample for my dinner.
There at left is the dish just out of the oven. I actually turned on the broiler element for about 3 minutes to get those nice crusty bits on top. But the topping is all composed of dairy and a little bit of cheese, so you don’t want to overdo the broiling.
The dish comes together in about 30 minutes, I guess, maybe a little bit more, and it bakes for 30 minutes, so you could have it on the table in about an hour.
The lamb I had was not very lamb-y tasting. Why is that? I think it was Colorado lamb, not New Zealand. I don’t know if there is a difference. But the casserole was just wonderful anyway. Maybe it’s because I grew up on casseroles. My mother used to make them frequently. The original recipe for this came from one of my mother and dad’s friends, so it’s a old-old recipe.
What’s GOOD: well, I like casseroles to begin with. This is an easy one-baking-pan dish, though you will dirty up a couple of pans doing the prep for this. I love the combo of the ground meat layer, the zucchini and then the Feta-salty-creamy topping with the melted Parmesan on top. It’s comfort food, I’m sure. And I liked this one made with lamb rather than ground beef.
What’s NOT: if you don’t like lamb, well, you won’t like this. Most people like Feta. And I promise, even if you’re a cottage cheese hater, I doubt you’d notice. You can barely see the curds of cottage cheese in the topping, but it’s blended in with crumbles of Feta and you could easily think that’s what you were eating.
printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)
* Exported from MasterCook *
Easy Ground Lamb Moussaka
Recipe By: one of my own, old recipes, revised
Serving Size: 8
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large zucchini — cut into 1/4″ coins
LAMB LAYER:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion — finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic — minced
1 pound ground lamb
1 tablespoon oregano — Greek if available (don’t use Mexican)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon dried mint flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt — or to taste
8 ounces tomato sauce
2 tablespoons red wine
Salt and pepper to taste
CHEESE LAYER:
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese — use full fat
1/2 cup Greek yogurt, full-fat — or sour cream
1 large egg
1/4 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese — grated
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese — for sprinkling on top of casserole
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large skillet heat the olive oil, then add the finely chopped onion. Simmer for 4-6 minutes until the onion is wilted. Add the garlic and stir for about a minute. Scoop the onion mixture out and set aside.
3. To the same skillet add the ground lamb (usually there is sufficient fat – add a jot of oil if it’s particularly lean) and break up as it cooks through. Spoon out any fat and discard. When all the pink is gone, add the onion mixture back in, then the seasonings, tomato sauce and red wine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.
4. Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat olive oil. If the zucchini is really large, cut each one in half lengthwise and then slice. Add to skillet and cook over medium heat until the zucchini has taken on some golden color, stirring occasionally. Do not cook the zucchini through as it will cook further during the baking. When it’s cooked enough, pour the zucchini into 9×9 square baking dish (ceramic or glass).
5. Pour the lamb mixture over the top of the zucchini and spread out, completely covering the zucchini.
6. In a medium bowl combine the cottage cheese, yogurt, Feta, egg and one portion of the grated cheese. Stir vigorously until the egg has completely disappeared in the mixture. Carefully pour this mixture over the meat mixture, trying to get it all the way to the edges – but without picking up any of the meat. Use an offset spatula if you have one.
7. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top of the dish is golden brown. You may use a broiler at the last if you’d prefer, but watch it carefully as it will burn quickly.
8. Allow to cool at least 5 minutes, then serve portions, trying to keep the square portion intact. Serve with a green salad and bread on the side.
9. As it sits, the zucchini lets loose of some of its water, so If you have leftovers, try to drain off that liquid so the casserole isn’t water-logged. Reheat in a low oven for about 20 minutes, or heat individual servings in the microwave, but cover it as it will spatter.
Per Serving: 314 Calories; 23g Fat (65.8% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 77mg Cholesterol; 533mg Sodium.
hddonna
said on June 9th, 2016:
What a good idea! A streamlined moussaka sounds like just the ticket! Every time I make my favorite moussaka recipe, I’m shocked at how much time it takes and how many dishes it dirties, and it takes a few years before I get around to making it again. I like zucchini, but I’m a big fan of eggplant and would prefer that. But I’m the only eggplant lover in the family, so I have used potatoes on one half of the casserole and eggplant on the other. I think the guys would like it with the zucchini, so I’ll make it half eggplant, half zucchini and see how that goes over.
Oh, good. Let me know how you like it. It’s certainly not like making the real thing, but it’s satisfying in the same way moussaka is. Hope your family enjoys it. . . carolyn t
I’ve made a correction to this recipe – I’d omitted the Feta cheese (1/4 cup), but what’s here and on the pdf and MasterCook file are now corrected. . . carolyn t