Dukan Friendly Moussaka

Recently I’d bought aubergines as they’re on the ‘allowed’ list of veg for the Dukan Diet, and was trying to think of something to use them for!  I must confess that I’d always considered them a bit of a waste of time in the past but faced with a limited list of vegetables that we can eat on the Dukan, now’s the time to embrace them.  In this recipe they’re charred first which imparts a nice flavour to the dish.  The usual high-fat sauce is replaced with a cottage cheese topping, making it a great dish for a protein+veg day.

As this got a good critique by Mr Missladydj (who ate 3/4 of it :)), I think next time I’ll double the cottage cheese topping to give a thicker layer.  If you try this recipe, let me know what you think!

This will feed 3-4 people, or two very hungry people 🙂

Ingredients:

• 600g lean (or extra lean) minced beef
• 2 medium aubergines
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 gloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 heaped tbsp chopped mint
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 rounded tbsp tomato puree
• 75ml stock (fresh chicken stock or 1/2 stock cube)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cooking spray or a little oil

Topping:

• 300g tub low fat cottage cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 whole nutmeg, grated
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 300C

1. Cut the aubergines into 4cm chunks.  Spray/lightly oil a roasting tin and place chunks in it, toss and sprinkle with a little salt.
2. Put tin in the oven on a high shelf and roast aubergines until they are nicely charred.  This will take about 25-30 minutes.
3. In the meantime, fry the onion and garlic gently in a pan and when softened, up the heat and add the mince.  Cook until browned, stirring regularly.
4. While the mince is cooking, get a small bowl and mix together the mint, cinnamon, tomato puree and stock.
5. Pour over the mince, season with salt and pepper and cook gently for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. When the aubergines are cooked, remove them from the oven and reduce the heat to 180C.
7. Tip the cottage cheese into a bowl and add the egg.  Grate in the nutmeg, season, and give the whole lot a good mix until the egg and cheese is incorporated.
8. Add the aubergines to the mince mixture and stir well.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
9. Pour the meat mixture into a 24cm x 24cm oven-proof dish and pat down lightly.
10. Carefully add the cottage cheese topping and smooth over the top, trying not to mix it with the meat.
11. Place in the centre of the oven and cook for 50 minutes until the top is nicely browned (this adds taste to the topping)
12. Serve on it’s own or with a side salad.