Traditional Greek moussaka is a layered casserole of ground meat, eggplant, tomato, white sauce, and spices. The recipe that follows is far from traditional moussaka, which itself has many variations in Greece, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Egypt and other Mediterranean countries. This recipe for moussaka from leftover spaghetti sauce came from my attempt to do something healthy and interesting with leftover spaghetti sauce and some fresh vegetables from the farmers market.

The recipe

Spaghetti sauce moussaka

• 3 cups leftover spaghetti sauce with meat
• 1 large eggplant, sliced into 1/8″ rounds
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/8″ rounds
• 8 white mushrooms, sliced thinly
• 1 roma tomato, sliced very thinly
• 3T olive oil, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Salt and pepper

Put 1T of olive oil into the bottom of a baking dish and smear to cover the bottom.  Layer half of the eggplant and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Next, layer half the zucchini and then all the mushrooms.  Finally, layer all of the tomato.  Cover with all of the spaghetti sauce.  Layer the rest of the eggplant and zucchini, adding more salt and pepper.  Mix the garlic, parsley and 2T of olive oil.  Spread on top of the casserole.  Bake uncovered at 350F for about 45 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.  If it starts getting too brown on top, cover with foil until done.

Ideas for moussaka variations

When I came up with this moussaka with leftover spaghetti sauce recipe I was going for something that was primarily vegetables.  Obvious additions to this would be a velvety bechamel (white) sauce and bread crumb or cheese topping.  You could also add some sliced potatoes or other vegetables.  Almost anything would be good in there as long as it can be sliced thinly or lays down flat.  You could do a Mexican variation by using leftover taco meat instead of spaghetti sauce and then add jalapenos, beans, and/or pepper jack cheese.  You could finish that off with sour cream or salsa.  YUM!  I think I may try that next time!

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