moussaka with lentils

So you love moussaka but you are fasting for lent or you are a vegan? That doesn't mean you have to miss out on your favorite dish anymore! This is my delicious vegan moussaka with lentils recipe that I've specifically crafted, so it keeps the essence of the traditional one, yet is fully plant based!

Vegan Moussaka with Lentils

dried mushrooms (1/2 tbsp)

olive oil

red onion

salt

garlic

cinnamon

tomato paste

can chopped tomatoes (14 oz)

glass red wine

tbsp balsamic vinegar

dried green lentils (7 oz)

oregano

bay leaf

black pepper

sugar

brown onion

soy milk (2 1/2 cups)

black peppercorns

extra virgin olive oil (1/4 cup)

flour (2 3/4 oz)

yeast flakes

nutmeg

garlic powder

eggplant

potatoes

Pour 500ml (2 cups) of boiling water over the dried mushrooms and set aside to soak.

Infuse the milk for the béchamel. Roughly chop the white onion and add to a small saucepan or milk pan along with the soy milk, cinnamon stick, one of the bay leaves and the peppercorns. Set over a medium high heat and gently bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse.

Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the chopped red onion and cook for 5-6 minutes until translucent and just starting to colour. Add the crushed garlic and cook for a further minute until aromatic.

Stir in the ground cinnamon, followed by the tomato paste. Cook for a further minute or two until the tomato paste has caramelised slightly and turned brick red.

Stir in the chopped tomatoes, red wine, balsamic vinegar, and the dried mushroom soaking liquid, using a little soaking liquid or wine to wash out the tomato tin so you don’t leave any juice behind. Stir in the lentils, oregano, the remaining dried bay leaf, and the soaked dried mushrooms, finely chopped.

Bring to the boil and season well with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, uncovered, for 1 hour until the lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 220C/430F.

Slice the potatoes into 0.5cm (half a finger width) slices. Line a large baking sheet (you might need two depending on the size of your sheets) with baking parchment and lay out the potato slices. Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Flip the pieces over and repeat. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until well browned &#8211; with the baking parchment, there should be no need to flip them to colour both sides.

To prepare the eggplant, slice lengthwise into 1cm (one finger width) wide strips. As with the potatoes, transfer to baking parchment lined baking sheets, season on both sides with salt, and spray with olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes; there will also be no need to turn the eggplant pieces half way, but you’ll want to rotate the pans in the oven roughly half way to make sure everything browns evenly.

Once the vegetables are done, drop the oven temperature to 180C/350F.

When the lentils are about 10 minutes from being cooked, start the béchamel. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. Once the oil has just started to shimmer, whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly to cook the raw flavour out of the flour.

Strain the infused milk and gradually whisk it into the flour mixture, whisking quickly to avoid any lumps. Whisk in the nutritional yeast, nutmeg, and garlic powder, and and season to taste with salt &#8211; you’ll probably need more than you think to bring out the ‘cheesy’ flavour of the nutritional yeast. Remove from the heat only when the mixture is thick, but still spreadable.

To assemble the moussaka, spread the potatoes in a single layer across the bottom of a deep 32cm x 20cm (12 inch x 8 inch) baking dish. Then, layer half the eggplant slices, followed by the lentil mixture. Add the rest of the eggplant, and smooth the béchamel over the top.

Bake the moussaka for 30 minutes or until the top is golden. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Hearty lentils, roasted eggplant, spinach and a creamy custard topping make this lentil moussaka utterly delicious! This veggie moussaka recipe is perfect for Sunday supper, a special occasion meal or when entertaining friends and family.

Lentil Moussaka Recipe

eggplants

avocado oil (approximately)

salt (divided)

black pepper (divided)

baby spinach

green lentils

yellow onion

garlic (minced)

baby bella (cremini) mushrooms (minced (about 227 grams))

red pepper flakes

clove

tomatoes

salt vegetable broth

bay leaves

unsalted butter

all-purpose flour

milk

egg yolks (yolks only)

Cooking spray (to grease baking dish)

sweet potato, yellow potato, or Russet potato (thinly sliced)

panko bread crumbs

crumbled feta cheese

oregano leaves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line two sheet pans with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spread slices of eggplant over top. Brush with avocado oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping the eggplant rounds halfway. Once done, carefully remove, and set aside.Note: While the eggplant is roasting, you can start preparing some of the other moussaka components (like the spinach, lentils and sauce).

Roasted Eggplant

Place spinach, nutmeg and a tiny splash of water (about 1 to 2 tablespoons) in a  12-inch heavy-bottomed sauté (or deep) pan (one that comes with a lid) over medium heat (you can use the same pan later to make the sauce). Cover and cook on the stovetop until just wilted (stir occasionally; this should only take a few minutes). Place the spinach in a fine mesh sieve to squeeze out excess moisture. To do this, I like to press the spinach against the sieve with a spoon, allowing the excess water to flow out. Chop the spinach.Note: You&#39;re not pressing the spinach through the sieve, just using it to get rid of that extra water.Note: If you&#39;d rather, you can use a clean tea towel instead of a fine mesh sieve to remove excess moisture from the spinach. To do this, after cooking the spinach, allow it to cool a bit until it&#39;s cool enough to handle, place it in a clean tea towel and squeeze out the excess moisture.

Spinach Layer

Cook lentils in a separate pot on the stovetop according to package instructions. Note: For this recipe, 1 cup of lentils was used and 3 cups of water. Pick over lentils and discard any foreign objects, like rocks, and imperfect lentils. Rinse and drain. Add lentils to a saucepan with water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat (to about medium-low heat) to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes until tender. Don&#39;t overcook. Rinse and drain. Set aside.Note: While the lentils are cooking, prepare the sauce.

For making the sauce, you can use the same pan you cooked the spinach in. Wipe out pan of any excess moisture. Heat olive oil in the pan over medium heat on the stovetop. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until onion has softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cinnamon, oregano, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, nutmeg and clove. Cook for 1 minute.

Pour in tomatoes and vegetable broth and add bay leaves. Stir. Bring to boil, reduce the heat (to about medium-low heat) to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes (stir occasionally).

Remove bay leaves and discard.

Once the lentils are cooked, add them to the sauce. You&#39;re looking for a consistency similar to a meat sauce. Set aside.

Lentil Sauce

Melt butter in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour to form a paste and cook for about 3 minutes.

Slowly (about 1/2 cup at a time), whisk in warmed milk. Once milk is added, cook for a few minutes, whisking, until thickened before adding more milk. Continue doing this until all the milk has been used. This could take about 10 to 15 minutes.

Once milk has been used and sauce is thick, stir in black pepper, salt and nutmeg. Turn off heat and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every so often to allow it to cool down (as to not scramble the eggs once added to a hot liquid).

Very slowly whisk in egg and egg yolks until it&#39;s combined and smooth. Set aside.

Custard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spray a 9-inch x 13-inch deep baking or casserole dish with cooking spray or grease with cooking oil.

Layer potato slices on bottom of dish. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, black pepper and bread crumbs.

Layer half of the eggplant on top. Next layer half of the spinach. Then, half of the lentil sauce, spreading out to have an even layer filling the dish. Repeat, starting with eggplant.

Pour custard over top (if some seeps down the sides of the casserole, that&#039;s okay). Sprinkle with feta cheese.

Place dish on a baking sheet (to catch any spills) and bake for 65 to 70 minutes.

Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 to 30 minutes before serving (don&#039;t skip this step).

Garnish to taste (if desired) with fresh oregano. Serve and enjoy! Recipe serves 6 to 8.

Assemble and Bake Moussaka

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