Moussaka

Name: Moussaka
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: Aubergine; Olive oil; Lamb leg; Onion; Garlic; Red wine; Tinned plum tomatoes; Tomato puree; Ground cinnamon; Dried oregano; Plain flour; Semi-skimmed milk; Fat-free Greek yoghurt; Egg; Pecorino Romano

352 kcal a serving, against 1008 for the traditional version. That is 656 kcal off, or 65%, with 33.5g of protein. Serves 8. 90 minutes.

What the traditional version is

Slices of aubergine shallow-fried until saturated with oil. A rich ragu of fatty lamb shoulder, cinnamon and red wine. A thick layer of bechamel made from a heavy butter roux, whole milk and egg yolks.

What changed, and what each change costs

Fried aubergine down to dry-roasted aubergine

Aubergine absorbs oil like nothing else on earth. Roasting the slices with a tiny brush of oil drags the fat down massively.

What it costs you. You lose that melting, saturated texture. Roasted aubergine holds its shape and bites back a bit more.

Lamb shoulder down to lean lamb leg

Shoulder is brilliant for slow cooking but carries too much fat. Leg is pure lean muscle, which shifts the balance of the whole dish.

What it costs you. You have to pulse the meat yourself in a food processor. It also lacks the sticky richness of shoulder fat, so the ragu needs careful simmering.

100g of butter in the bechamel down to 0g, bringing in 0% Greek yoghurt

A butter roux is heavy. Toasting the flour dry and whisking in cold milk works perfectly. The yoghurt adds volume and a vast hit of protein.

What it costs you. Slightly sharper, then. Not a classic silken sauce, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. You lose the buttery gloss on top of the bake.

What goes in it

The ingredients, without the quantities. The weights are what the figures below are computed from, and they are in the book.

Aubergine
Olive oil
Lamb leg
Onion
Garlic
Red wine
Tinned plum tomatoes
Tomato puree
Ground cinnamon
Dried oregano
Plain flour
Semi-skimmed milk
Fat-free Greek yoghurt
Egg
Pecorino Romano

How it starts

Heat your oven to 200C.
Cut the lamb leg into rough chunks and pulse it in a food processor until it looks like coarse mince.
Heat a large frying pan.

The rest of the method, and every weight, is in Authentic-ish Greek.

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	1008	352
Protein	28.9g	33.5g
Fat	86.6g	11.4g
Saturated fat	26.3g	4.5g
Carbohydrate	25.2g	26.2g
Protein per 100 kcal	2.9g	9.5g

Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Greek prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked. How every number is computed sets out the method.

Allergens. gluten, milk, eggs, sulphites.

The method is in the book

A brilliant trade. You miss the deep-fried edges of the aubergine, but the toasted flour bechamel is a revelation. It holds together perfectly on the plate and delivers exactly the Greek flavours you want from a moussaka.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Greek, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback