Turkey Moussaka #leanonturkey

Gobble Gobble Gobble!  This dashing gentleman is a Bronze Turkey.  He's the kind that you have for Christmas dinner, because they taste so good.  This particular turkey lives at Folly Farm, where we went for a daytrip a couple of weeks ago, but I thought I'd share his handsome picture, before showing you what you can do with him!

I use turkey mince in our moussaka, because it's good value for money, less fatty than the traditional lamb mince, and tastes great.  You could use lamb if you wanted, or veggie mince if that's what floats your boat, but this is MY moussaka, and I use turkey.  I use it in chilli as well, but my recipe for that is "eyeball it, chuck it in a pan & leave it be til you're hungry", and that doesn't make for great reading.  So, here goes my recipe.

Turkey Moussaka - serves 4


Ingredients
400gr turkey mince
400gr chopped tinned tomatoes or passata
300gr Greek yogurt
2 eggs
1 onion
1 aubergine
1 large potato, or 3-4 smaller ones
2 cloves garlic, crushed
25 gr grated cheddar
Healthy squeeze of tomato puree
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch mixed herbs
1 stock cube (I used a baby salt-free cube)
olive oil for frying

Method

Should've got a bigger aubergine

Preheat oven to 200c, 400f or Gas Mark 6.


Dice onion as fine as you can (not very fine if you're me!), and fry the onion & turkey mince in a saucepan (YES, a saucepan, it will make sense later) until browned.  Add the tomatoes, crushed garlic, tomato puree, cinnamon, herbs & stock cube.  Stir & cover, and leave to simmer while you get on with the next bit.


Slice the aubergine into 1cm rounds.  Brush with a small amount of olive oil & fry gently in batches until coloured up & a bit floppy. Aubergines are one of the favourite apparition places for assorted deities, so check with care.  Set aside on a plate with a piece of kitchen roll to absorb any excess oil.

Peel potatoes, slice into 1cm slices & parboil, or nuke in the microwave for about 2 mins.

Place a layer of aubergine in the bottom of a large, ovenproof dish.  Cover with half the meat & tomato mix. Cover this with all the potato slices, then the other half of the meat & tomato mix, and finish off with the remaining aubergine.

Whisk the eggs and yogurt together until smooth.  Pour over the top of the meat & aubergine dish, trying to make sure it's all covered.  Top with the grated cheddar.

Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve with garlic bread, salad, chips, or a large glass of something cold.  Whatever takes your fancy really.

This is my entry for the Britmums Lean On Turkey competition, sponsored by www.leanonturkey.co.uk