Eggplant Zucchini Chickpea Casserole with Arborio Rice

Moussaka is popular in the Balkans, Mediterranean, and the Middle East, and it’s basically a layered casserole that’s usually made with eggplant, tomatoes, and meat.

There are endless varieties of moussaka. It ... [read more]]]>

Moussaka is popular in the Balkans, Mediterranean, and the Middle East, and it’s basically a layered casserole that’s usually made with eggplant, tomatoes, and meat.

There are endless varieties of moussaka. It can be made vegan without eggs, cheese, yogurt, and meat.

It can also be made vegetarian with eggs, yogurt, and cheese.

You can make moussaka with or without legumes and with or without rice/potatoes.

You can choose whatever vegetables you like in your moussaka, but most generally, it always includes eggplant and tomatoes. We did, however, make it a few times with just zucchini, potatoes, garlic, onions, and then covered it all with a bunch of beaten eggs. It’s wonderful that way too.

Because it’s such a versatile dish, it’s one you can enjoy often without getting tired of it.

Click here to see another moussaka recipe we made last year. You can see how different yet similar they both are.

Beef and Vegetable Moussaka

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 lb. lean chuck stew beef, cubed
• 1 large eggplant, thinly sliced
• 10 small potatoes, peeled and sliced into medium sized pieces
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1 zucchini, sliced into thin slices
• 1 orange bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, chopped finely
• 1 can  (15 oz.) chickpeas (reserve water from the can)
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 16 whole garlic cloves
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp.nutmeg
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. sea salt

Step One:  Preparing and Layering the Vegetables and Chickpeas

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease a large baking dish with a little bit of olive oil.
• Wash and peel the potatoes, and then cut the potatoes into slices that aren’t too thin nor too thick.
• Place the potatoes on the bottom of the greased baking dish.
• Peel the skin off the eggplant, and then cut the eggplant into thin slices.
• Place the eggplant slices on top of the potato slices.
• Wash and slice the green onions, and then scatter them on top of the zucchini.
• Peel and dice the yellow onion, and then scatter them on top of the green onion.
• Drain the water off the can of chickpeas, but save the water and set it aside.
• Scatter the chickpeas on top of the onions.
• Then scatter a cup of dry rice on top of the chickpeas.
• Wash the parsley, finely chop it, and then sprinkle it evenly over the rice.
• Peel the garlic, and then scatter the whole cloves over the rice.
• Wash and cut the zucchini into thin, round slices.
• Then place the zucchini slices on top of the parsley, rice, and garlic cloves.
• Wash the bell pepper, remove the seeds, and then dice it.
• Sprinkle the diced bell peppers over the zucchini.
• In a medium sized bowl, mix together the can diced tomatoes, the water that was in the can of chickpeas, an additional 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup olive oil, and all the spices except the paprika.
• Pour the tomato sauce mixture on top of the vegetables in the pan.

Step Two:  Preparing the Beef

• Cut the beef into bite-sized cubes.
• Sear the beef by frying it uncovered  in 1/4 cup olive oil over high heat just the meat is kind of brownish on the outside but still raw on the inside.
• Place the seared, cubed beef on top of the layered vegetable and chickpea casserole you just made.
• Bury most of the beef into the layers, leaving just a small part of the beef exposed on top.

Step Three:  Baking the Moussaka

• Cover the moussaka with aluminum foil.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour.
• After one hour, the rice and potatoes should be soft and fully cooked.
• Remove from the oven and serve warm.

We were both in the mood for chickpeas yesterday so we decided to give this salad a try. It was fantastic! I’m happy we have leftovers for dinner tonight.

Warm Chickpea and Swiss Chard Salad

Recipe Adapted from: “Tastes of the Mediterranean“, page 44, “Warm Chickpea and Silverbeet Salad with Sumac”

Hummus is my favorite way to eat chickpeas; it’s also Kemal’s favorite chickpea dish as well. While you can serve it as an appetizer, we enjoy it as a meal. We like to spread it on bread, sometimes with some goat cheese. It makes for a light lunch…one that will give you a lot of ... [read more]]]> Hummus is my favorite way to eat chickpeas; it’s also Kemal’s favorite chickpea dish as well. While you can serve it as an appetizer, we enjoy it as a meal. We like to spread it on bread, sometimes with some goat cheese. It makes for a light lunch…one that will give you a lot of energy yet not make you drowsy or tired later.

We also enjoy hummus on our salads. I think it tastes a lot better than adding cold chickpeas to my salad, and it’s a much healthier alternative to using salad dressing. Or if you really like your salad dressing, use only about 1/3 the amount you normally would, substituting hummus instead of using so much dressing. Ranch and roasted pepper hummus make for an interesting mix on your veggie salads.

Jalepeno and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Ingredients:

• dried chickpeas, approximately 2 cups (you can substitute with canned chickpeas)
• water
• 2 jalepenos
• 1 large red pepper
• 2 lemons
• 7 garlic cloves
• 5 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. cumin
• sea salt to taste
• parsley to garnish

Instructions:

• I used dried chickpeas to make my hummus, and to cook them, I just put them in a Crockpot, covered them with water, and cooked on high for about 7 hours. I never cook on high heat with my Crockpot unless I’m at home and awake. Caution: When you cook on high heat, the water level will evaporate much faster, and you need to watch your beans to see if you need to add more water. If you’re cooking them while you’re sleeping or away from the house, always cook on low heat.
• Meanwhile, grease a baking dish with about 1 tsp. olive oil.
• Wash the outside of the peppers.
• Peel the garlic.
• Put the whole peppers and the garlic cloves in a bowl, tossing them in about 2 tsp. olive oil.
• Bake them on 350 degrees (uncovered) until they’re soft.
• Remove from the oven and let them cool.
• Juice both of your lemons, setting aside the freshly squeezed juice in the refrigerator for later use.
• After your chickpeas are soft (just poke them with a fork to tell if they’re done), transfer them while they’re still warm to your blender. I added the liquid that was left in the Crockpot, but there wasn’t a lot of it. If you’re using canned chickpeas to make your hummus, just add the water from the can.
• Add the peppers, garlic, cumin, lemon juice, 4 tbsp olive oil, and salt to the blender with the chickpeas.
• Puree the for several minutes until you have a smooth and creamy hummus.
• Transfer the hummus to a bowl.
• Taste it to see if you have enough salt. If not, add a little more.
• Refrigerate uncovered to let it chill.
• Serve cold. You can add a teaspoon or so of olive oil to the top of the hummus and then garnish with fresh parsley if you like. Adding the olive oil to the top is optional though.
• You can serve it with olives if you like, and how you eat it up to you. It’s great spread on bread, and it also makes a great chip or cracker dip.

My husband, Kemal, ... [read more]]]>

My husband, Kemal, a native of the former Yugoslavia, introduced me to this wonderful vegetable entree many years ago. The recipe varies from region to region, but regardless of how it’s made, I never met a moussaka I didn’t love!

The Yugoslavian version of moussaka that my husband and I make is a little different from the Greek version that we prepared last week. The Yugoslavian version that my husband makes is prepared with potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, and eggs, while the Greek version is made with eggplant, chickpeas, lentils, feta cheese, and yogurt.

Even the regional recipes vary. Some Greek versions of moussaka are made with lamb and eggplant and are prepared without legumes, and the Yugoslavian versions are also prepared in different ways as well. Whenever I think about all the different recipes for moussaka, I think about chili and how chili is made many different ways and has different ingredients, depending on who makes it.

Here’s a picture Kemal took last week right after it came out of the oven. It makes a huge pan, and makes about six to eight servings.

Vegetable Moussaka (Adapted from: “The Complete Book of Greek Cooking” by Rena Salaman & Jan Cutler, page 174, Anness Publishing Ltd. 2005, 2008)