Not-Exactly-Moussaka

And more time-consuming than I’d like, but it’s worth it…

While I’m not a professional cook by any stretch of the imagination, I’ve been cooking vegan dishes for more than twenty years. And I love to explore the flavors and cooking styles from different countries. Instead of meat, instead of harming and killing animals, I use tofu, or beans, or tempeh. So, here is a dish inspired by the Greek Moussaka, but instead of lamb (you know? A sweet baby sheep?) I use lentils. Please forgive my amateur style and unprofessional photography; I promise, it’ll taste good! 

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant 

• About 1 ½ LB Russet potatoes

For the lentil- sauce:

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped

• 1 - 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 LB crimini or baby portobello mushrooms, chopped

• 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

• 1 (15 oz) can chopped tomatoes

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 3 cups cooked lentils

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• Salt

• Pepper

• Pinch of nutmeg

• Pinch of cayenne pepper

For the “béchamel” sauce:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• ⅔ cup hot vegetable broth

• ¼ cup nutritional yeast

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

• salt

Preparation:

We’ll start with the eggplant and the potatoes. Cut both into rounds no more than ¼” thick. Put them in a single layer on some plates, sprinkle with a little salt, and let sit for a few minutes. Some moisture will come to the surface, take a paper towel and gently pat the vegetables dry.

Prepare both vegetables: In my air fryer, I fried two batches for 10 minutes each. Alternatively, you can use your oven: preheat to 350° F, line two baking sheets with parchment paper, place the eggplant on one baking sheet and the potatoes on the other. Bake for about 20 minutes. You don’t need to use any oil.

While the vegetables are baking, prepare the lentil-sauce. 

Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the chopped onion and  cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until the onions are soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until the aroma is released. Add the chopped mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, mix everything, and stir-fry another 5 or so minutes. Add the tomato paste and quickly roast until the color turns bright red. Then add all the other ingredients, lower the heat, and let gently simmer for about 20 minutes. 

While the sauce is cooking, lightly oil a deep baking dish (I use a 9” x 12” Pyrex pan) and place a layer of eggplants at the bottom. Cover with a layer of potatoes. 

Next, prepare the  “béchamel” sauce (I put it in quotation marks because I use somewhat different ingredients from the traditional sauce. I found this one in a German vegan recipe collection). Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan. When hot, add the flour and stir until well mixed. Add the vegetable broth, turn the heat down, and quickly stir until you have a thick sauce. Adjust with extra water, if too thick. Then add the nutritional yeast and the mustard. Add a pinch of salt if needed.

Next, pour the lentil sauce over the eggplant and potato layers. Cover with a layer of potatoes. Pour the  “béchamel” sauce on top. Cover with vegan grated cheese.

Bake at 375° F for 40 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden. The cheese that I had bought didn’t melt but stayed stringy; I hope you’ll have better luck…

It tasted great, nevertheless! καλή όρεξη — kalí̱ órexi̱!