Chania Moussaka

The name of the disk makes it sound fancy, foreign, and hard, right?!?!!?  But really, its just an eggplant casserole (or cheese-less eggplant lasagna).  The original recipe can be found here, I only changed it up a little bit but I thought you would want to see what I did!

Chania Moussaka

2 large eggplants, cut into 1/4-in. round slices
Salt
2 tbsp. grapeseed oil (you can use any oil)

non-stick cooking spray as needed
1/2 bunch spinach
1 green pepper, chopped
Ground cinnamon to taste
1 red onion, sliced into half moons
5 Garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, cut into 1/4-in. round slices
2 tbsp. raisins
2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
4 small chicken breasts, cooked & diced
2 tbsp. bread crumbs

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Spray a rectangular baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. 
• Place the eggplant slices on paper towel. Sprinkle with salt. Top with paper towel, and place a pan or other weight on top. Let rest until ready to cook. The salting will draw out the bitterness from the eggplant, drawing out the salt with it. 
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the eggplant and sauté until slices are browned on both sides. Add cooking spray as needed to keep sautéing the eggplant. Transfer half the eggplant to the baking pan, forming a layer on the bottom of the pan. It’s okay if the eggplant overlaps slightly. 
• Add the chopped Swiss chard and green peppers to the pan and sauté about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to baking dish and season with cinnamon. 
• Spoon 1/3 of the tomato sauce over the vegetables. 
• Add diced chicken to the baking dish.
• Add 2 tbsp. of grapeseed oil to the pan. Add onions, carrots and garlic and sauté for 4-5 minutes until onions are translucent. Add the currants to the pan and sauté 3-4 minutes, until the carrots are tender. Transfer to the baking dish. 
• Spoon 1/3 of the tomato sauce over the vegetables.  
• Add the rest of the of the eggplant to the baking dish.
• Press down to compact, add the remainder of the tomato sause and add more cinnamon to taste. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. 
• Cover loosely with foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Uncover and cook for 15 minutes longer until golden brown and bubbling around the edges. 

Makes 4-5 servings.