Moussaka (Vegan but greek style)

Serves 3 hungry people

Ingredients

• 1 large onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 large aubergine
• 150gm closed cup white mushrooms
• 1 400gm tinned tomatoes
• 2 tbspn Tomato puree
• 150gm chopped walnuts
• 3 medium potatoes
• Wholemeal flour (I used spelt)
• Cashew milk (I use plenish)
• Olive oil
• Wholemeal toast (I made breadcrumbs)
• 1tbspn Oregano (dried or fresh)
• 1tbspn Mixed herbs
• Smoked salt
• Ground black pepper

 

Method:

Heat a grill or a pan with a bit of oil. Cut aubergine into 1cm slices, and place them in the pan. Cook for a few minutes until slightly brown on each side. Take them out and keep them aside.

Cut onion into small pieces and sautéing for 5 minutes on a new pan. Then add chopped garlic, and chopped mushrooms to the pan. Sautéing for 5 minutes and then add the oregano and mixed herbs. Saute for a minute or two and then add the tomato + tomato puree. Stir well and let it simmer for about 20 mins.

Boil potatoes, cool them and slice them into 1cm slices.

In a milk pan, start with a bit of olive oil and mix in a large spoon of wholemeal flour. Make it into a ball and keep cooking for a couple of minutes. Slowly start adding cashew milk and keep letting the ball of flour grow with the liquid you add. Keep adding liquid until the sauce happens to be non-lumpy, but a texture of a nice béchamel sauce. Add salt and black pepper to taste. If the sauce is too runny, mix more flour in the milk in a small dish to make a thick paste and mix it in.

Add walnuts to the tomato sauce and then set the sauce aside to cool.

Make breadcrumbs and a handful of walnuts in a blender with some olive oil and salt.

Now we assemble in the moussaka to go in the oven. Take an oven dish around 30cm x20cm. Start with a layer of aubergines at the bottom, then tomato and mushroom sauce, then add the white sauce. Then again the aubergines layer after which you again add the tomato and mushrooms sauce. This time, then add the potatoes and then the white sauce over it. Spread the breadcrumbs on top.

Put the oven on 180deg C and then leave it alone baking for about 45mins.

Serve with steamed broccoli or steamed kale.

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Posted by Tom Greenwood on 2 October 2017