How Eggplant can Help to Treat Over-Indulgence!

Yep, I over indulged in lots of delicious food and stunning cocktails during my extra special birthday retreat in Bali.  Why hold back? I turned ** after all (That should keep you guessing!).

Back at home and wanting to enforce some ‘healthy eating’ I decided to make this very easy and fresh vegetarian moussaka.  Main ingredient: eggplant also known as aubergine.  Eggplant is well known in traditional Chinese medicine for its sweet flavour and cooling nature. It works on the Liver, Large Intestine, Lung and Spleen organs in particular.

It is used medicinally to treat stagnant blood and clear heat and toxins from the body. Stagnation of energy in the body typically results in pain, and eggplant can be particularly useful for helping women suffering from painful menstruation and breast tenderness.

It’s cooling nature helps to regulate the intestines and it can be used to treat intestinal problems such as constipation or diarrhoea, especially when the patient feels hot or has burning sensations.  I imagine it would be good therefore for Bali belly or food poisoning where these symptoms are apparent.  (No Bali belly for me this time!).

It’s harmonising effect on the Liver helps to sooth and calm emotions and can be very helpful for a person who is feeling angry, frustrated or irritable.  All in all, eggplant is a useful and delicious fruit vegetable highly recommended after a few days of partying!

Let me know if you enjoy my moussaka!

Michelle’s After-Party Moussaka

Makes 1 medium sized baking dish

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant
• 2 large zucchini
• 8 fresh ripe tomatoes
• 1 large brown or red onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 long sprig of rosemary finely chopped
• ½ tspn oregano
• 350 grams plain yoghurt (fat-free if you prefer)
• 1 tblespn parmesan cheese
• 1 large handful cheddar cheese for sprinkling

Method

• Slice the eggplant in ½ cm slices
• Place them on a couple of baking trays drizzle with a little bit of olive oil (doesn’t have to be much), and bake in the oven on medium heat. Turn the slices over, drizzle a bit more oil and  bake for another 10-15 minutes. Depending on your oven this process may take up to ½ hour or longer.  You want the eggplant to be tender but not necessarily soft.
• While the eggplant is baking, chop the onion and garlic and put in a saucepan with a  small amount of olive oil and cook until the onion is translucent.  Chop the tomatoes into smallish chunks and add to the pot. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the tomatoes until they have broken down and look like a sauce.  Stir occasionally.  Along the way, add some pepper, salt, splash of balsamic vinegar and ½ tspn sugar (takes the acidity out of the tomatoes).  Sprinkle in the rosemary and ½ tspn of fresh or flaked oregano.  Once the sauce is very soft, mushy and cooked well, use a stick blender to puree.
• Chop the zucchini into ½ cm slices.

White Yoghurt Sauce

• Mix 1 tblspn cornflour with ¼  cup of lukewarm water.
• Blend the cornflour mixture with the yoghurt.  I use my stick blender for this.
• Add in the parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper to your taste.
• You can also add some finely grated lemon rind if you like

Layering the Moussaka

• I like to start with a thin bottom layer of tomato sauce followed by a layer of eggplant, then zucchini then a thick layer of tomato sauce.
• Repeat the eggplant and zucchini then cover the whole dish with the white yoghurt sauce.
• If you like a cheese topping then sprinkle the top with grated cheddar cheese.  (You could also replace this with fresh breadcrumbs if you are not a cheese eater.
• Cover with foil or a lid and bake in the oven on a slow heat until its cooked and tender in the middle.  I like to take the cover off once it’s cooked and brown the top.
• Serve hot or warm with a fresh green salad.

Image By KEKO64