Step 1

To prepare this vegetarian moussaka recipe, begin by preparing your eggplants. Remove the stalks from the eggplants and cut them into slices, aprrox.1 cm thick. Season with salt and place in a colander for about half an hour.

Step 2

Rinse the eggplants with plenty of water and squeeze with your hands, to get rid of the excessive water. Pat them dry and fry in plenty of oil, until nicely colored. Place the fried eggplants on some paper, in order to absorb the oil. For a healthier version of this vegetarian moussaka recipe try drizzling the eggplants with some olive oil and bake them for 15 minutes at 200C instead of frying them.

Step 3

Now it’s time to prepare a delicious mushroom based sauce for your vegetarian moussaka. Heat a pan to medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the chopped mushrooms and sauté, until most of the juices have evaporated. Add the chopped onions and garlic and sauté. Pour in the wine and wait to evaporate. Add the tinned tomatoes, mushing them with a wooden spoon, the sugar, cinnamon and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer for about 15 minutes until most of the juices have evaporated and the sauce thickens.

Step 4

Lastly prepare the béchamel sauce for the vegetarian moussaka. Use a deep pan to melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the flour whisking continuously to make a paste and add warmed milk in a steady stream. Keep whisking in order to prevent your sauce from getting lumpy. If the sauce still needs to thicken, boil over low heat while continuing to stir. Remove the pan from the stove and stir in the egg yolks, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and the grated cheese. Whisk really quickly, season with salt to taste and set aside while you assemble the dish.

Step 5

For this vegetarian moussaka recipe you will need a large baking dish, approx. 20*30 cm. Butter the bottom and sides of the pan and sprinkle with some breadcrumbs (this will help absorb the extra juices). Layer the eggplants. Pour in the mushroom sauce and even out. Add a second layer of eggplants, top with the béchamel sauce and smooth out with a spatula.

Step 6

Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake the vegetarian moussaka in preheated oven at 180-200C for about 25-30 minutes, until crust turns light golden brown. Even though it will be really hard.. you should wait for the moussaka to cool down for a while before cutting into pieces.

Step 7

Serve this delicious vegetarian moussaka with a refreshing Greek salad aside. Enjoy!