When I cater dinner parties, there’s a good chance one or two guests is a vegetarian. One popular option is my vegetarian Moussaka. My answer is making the “meat” sauce with lentils – they are healthy, filling and the lentils make it look like a meat sauce.
The other twist to this moussaka is a layer of sweet potato along with potato and of course eggplant. This moussaka would also make for a vegetarian meal for your family. We can have meat tomorrow. Today’s it’s Vegetarian Moussaka!
Vegetarian Moussaka
Course: MainCuisine: Greek, MediterraneanDifficulty: Medium6
servings30
minutes1
hourIngredients
- For the Lentil Sauce
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup finely diced white onion
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can (540 gr) canned lentils, rinsed
1 cup tomato puree
1/4 cup dry red or white wine
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup hot water
1 1/2 tsp dried Greek oregano
salt and pepper to taste
- For the Vegetables
2-3 large potatoes, peeled
1 medium sweet potato, peeled
2 large eggplant
approx 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
approx 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- For the Bechamel
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter or olive oil
8 Tbsp. all purpose flour
4 cups hot milk
3 egg yolks
`1 cup grated Kefalotyri or Romano cheese
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Into a medium pot over medium heat, add your olive oil then your onions and garlic and sweat for 5-6 minutes. Add the lentils, wine, bay leaves, allspice, cinnamon, tomato puree, water, a bit of salt and pepper. Bring up to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 20-25 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste, remove bay leaves and take off the heat.
- Pre-heat your oven to 400F. Slice your vegetables into 1/4 inch slices, brush both sides with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake in the oven for about 12 minutes or until fork-tender. Take out of the oven and allow to cool
- For the Bechamel, add the butter into a medium pot over medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, add the flour and stir with a whisk for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 cup of milk, whisk in until no longer lumpy. Add the remaining milk and continue to stir with a whisk until sauce has thickened. Take off the heat, add yolks and whisk in quickly. Add half the cheese, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.
- For assembly, you’ll need a 13″x9″ deep pan. Brush bottom and sides with olive oil. Sprinkle the bottom of pan with breadcrumbs and lay a layer of potatoes. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and arrange a layer of sweet potato on top. Once again sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top.
- Spread your lentil sauce over the sweet potato layer evenly, followed by a sprinkle of breadcrumbs. Now top with your layer of eggplant and pour the Bechamel over and use a rubber spatula to evenly spread out. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the Bechamel.
- Place your Moussaka on the middle rack of a pre-heated 400F oven for 45-60 minutes or until top is golden-brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30-40 minutes. Portion and serve.
Notes
- This dish can be made one or two days in advance and reheated in a 350F oven.