My Veggie Moussaka Food

MY VEGGIE MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Cover the porcini with 300ml of boiling water. Peel and finely slice the onions and garlic.
• Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil into a large casserole pan over a medium-low heat, add the cinnamon and fry for 1 minute, then add the onion and garlic.
• Pick in the oregano leaves, pour in the vinegar, then simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes, or until soft and lightly golden, stirring regularly.
• Meanwhile, slice the aubergines lengthways 1cm thick, then chargrill in batches on a griddle pan.
• Scrub the potatoes and slice just under ½cm thick, then add to the casserole pan with just the porcini water, reserving the mushrooms.
• Scrunch the tomatoes into the pan, then pour in 1 tin's worth of water and stir thoroughly. Pop the lid on and leave to tick away on a medium heat for 50 minutes, or until tender, stirring regularly and removing the lid for the last 5 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
• Place the mushrooms in a blender with half the feta and the eggs. Pour in the milk, finely grate in half the nutmeg, then whiz until smooth.
• Season the tomato sauce to perfection with sea salt and black pepper, then spoon half into a 25cm x 35cm baking dish. Cover with half the aubergines, drizzle over 4 tablespoons of creamy sauce, then repeat, finishing with the remaining creamy sauce.
• Crumble over the rest of the feta, cover with tin foil, then bake for 50 minutes, or until golden and bubbling, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes. Leave to stand for 15 minutes before serving.
• Delicious served with a simple lemony dressed green salad.

MOUSSAKA: EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Salt the eggplant. Spread the eggplant slices in one layer and sprinkle with salt. Let set for 30 minutes to "sweat out" its bitterness.
• Turn the broiler of your oven on.
• Prepare a large sheet pan or two and brush with extra virgin olive oil. Pat the eggplant slices dry, removing excess salt, and assemble in one layer on the prepared pan. Brush generously with olive oil.
• Place the sheet pan about 6 inches away from the broiler. Broil the eggplant briefly, turning over so that both sides are softened and golden brown (do not worry if parts of the eggplant are slightly charred, but watch carefully so it doesn't burn). Remove from the oven and set aside.
• Prepare the meat sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet. Cook the onions on medium heat until they turn slightly golden brown, stirring regularly (about 5 minutes). Now add the ground lamb. Cook the lamb until fully browned, tossing regularly. Drain the lamb from any excess fat and return to the skillet. Add the dried oregano, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and hot paprika. Stir to coat the meat with the spices. Add the wine and boil for 1 minute to reduce. Stir in the canned tomatoes, sugar, and broth. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees F and work on the bechamel.
• Make the bechamel. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Cook until golden (if needed, added a little more olive oil). Gradually add the warmed milk, whisking continuously. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of the hot bechamel mixture with the 2 eggs. Then return all to the pan and stir into the bechamel mixture. Continue to stir or whisk the mixture bringing to a gentle boil for just 2 more minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from the heat and allow to cool and thicken a little more. (You should have a creamy, thick and smooth bechamel sauce.)
• Assemble the moussaka. When ready, lightly oil a 9 ½" x 13" oven-safe baking dish. Layer half the eggplant slices on the bottom. Add the meat sauce and spread well. Add the remaining eggplant slices. Pour the bechamel on top and spread to cover all the eggplant, then sprinkle with the bread crumbs.
• Bake. Bake the moussaka casserole on the center rack of the heated oven for 45 minutes. If you need to, transfer the baking pan to the top rack and broil briefly so that the top of the moussaka gains a nice golden brown color (watch carefully).
• Remove from the heat and let the casserole sit for 10 minutes before cutting through into squares to serve. Enjoy!

TRADITIONAL MOUSSAKA RECIPE WITH EGGPLANTS (AUBERGINES) AND POTATOES

Steps:

• To prepare this Greek moussaka recipe, begin by preparing the eggplants. Remove the stalks from the eggplants and cut them into slices, 1 cm thick. Season with salt and place in a colander for about half an hour.
• 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 lighter version of the traditional Greek moussaka try drizzling the aubergines with some olive oil and bake them for 20 minutes instead of frying them). Set aside when done.
• If you are adding potatoes to your moussaka, now its time to slice them into 0.5cm, half a finger width slices. Fry them or bake them in the same way as the eggplants. Season with some salt and set them aside when done.
• for the moussaka. Heat a large pan to medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the chopped onions and sauté, until softened and slightly colored. Stir in the mince breaking it up with a wooden spoon and sauté. When it starts to brown, add the the garlic and tomato paste and sauté until the garlic starts to soften. Pour in the red wine to deglaze the meat juices and wait to evaporate. Add the tinned tomatoes, the sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, 1 bay leaf and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes or until most of the juices have evaporated. Set aside when done.
• for the moussaka. Use a large pan to melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the flour whisking continuously to make a paste. 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. Its consistency should resemble a thick cream.
• Remove the béchamel pan from the stove and stir in the egg yolks, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and the most of the grated cheese. Reserve some cheese to sprinkle on top! Whisk quickly, in order to prevent the eggs from turning an omelette! Season with salt to taste. Take one spoon full of béchamel and stir it in the meat sauce. Set the béchamel sauce aside.
• Now its time to assemble the moussaka. For this moussaka recipe you will need a large baking dish, approx. 20x30cm / 8x12inch and 8cm/3 inch deep). Butter the bottom and sides of the pan and layer the potatoes first (if you're using them), then half the eggplants. Pour in all of the meat sauce and spread it out evenly. Add a second layer of eggplants, top with all of the béchamel sauce and smooth out with a spatula.
• . Preheat you oven at 180C/350F and bake your musaka for about 60 minutes or until its crust turns light golden brown. Even though it will be really hard to do so, you should wait for the moussaka to cool down and be just warm to the touch before cutting into pieces. This will prevent the béchamel sauce from pouring out when you're cutting your pieces.
• Serve the Moussaka with a refreshing Traditional Greek Salad and enjoy over a glass of wine!

VEGETARIAN MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Char the eggplants over a gas burner, turning with tongs, 4 to 6 minutes. Let cool, then slice 1/2 inch thick.
• Arrange the eggplant slices on two baking sheets. Brush with olive oil on both sides and season with salt. Roast until golden and cooked through, 20 to 22 minutes. Set aside.
• Combine 6 cups water and the lentils in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook until the lentils are tender but not mushy, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and let cool.
• Fill a large wide pot with 1 inch of vegetable oil. Heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350˚ F or a piece of bread dropped in turns golden quickly. Working in batches, fry the potato slices a few at a time until golden but not too brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the potatoes to a rack to drain and season with salt.
• Make the lentil-tomato sauce: Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large wide pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened and starting to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add the cooled lentils and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree, tomato paste, 1/2 cup water, the oregano, 2 teaspoons salt and 3 grinds of pepper and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Make the béchamel: Combine the cinnamon stick, milk and heavy cream in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat; cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the nutmeg and set aside.
• In another saucepan, melt the remaining 1 stick butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking, 3 to 5 minutes (do not let it brown). Slowly whisk in the heavy cream mixture, bring to a simmer and cook until thick and bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes; remove from the heat. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then temper them by whisking in 1 cup of the béchamel; whisk the tempered egg mixture into the remaining béchamel. Season with salt and pepper and add the feta.
• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Oil an extra-large baking dish or roasting pan. Layer half of the eggplant in the bottom of the pan, then pour half of the lentil-tomato sauce on top, spreading it in an even layer. Top with a layer of half of the potatoes and then spread with half of the béchamel. Repeat the layers (eggplant, lentil-tomato sauce, potatoes, béchamel).
• Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. (If the top browns too quickly, cover with foil during the last 15 minutes of baking.) Let cool, then cut into pieces.

VEGETABLE MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Brush a large baking dish extra-virgin olive oil. Season the pan with parsley, salt and freshly ground pepper. Layer the vegetables in the same procedure as lasagna, alternating the different vegetables. Season between the layers with salt, pepper and parsley. Save most of the tomatoes for the top layer. Bake for about 1 hour or until all the vegetables appear soft. Season the top with chopped parsley, salt, freshly ground pepper, and extra-virgin olive oil.

VEGETARIAN MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Heat broiler.
• Brush both sides of eggplant slices with 2 Tbsp. oil; place in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Broil, 4 inches from heat, 5 to 7 min. on each side or until tender.
• Meanwhile, cook and stir onions and garlic in remaining oil in large skillet on medium heat 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Add next 5 ingredients; stir. Cook 3 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
• Heat oven to 375°F. Place eggplant slices in single layer on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with veggie crumbles mixture.
• Melt butter in medium saucepan on medium heat. Add flour and pepper; cook and stir until mixture begins to bubble. Gradually stir in milk. Add eggs; cook and stir until sauce is thickened. Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in cheese; pour over ingredients in baking dish.
• Bake 40 to 45 min. or until heated through.

EASY VEGAN MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Put the aubergine slices in a large bowl and drizzle in 2 tbsp of the oil, season and toss well. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat and cook the aubergine slices, in batches, for 1 min on each side until charred and softening, then set aside on a plate. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan and tip in the onion with a pinch of salt. Cook gently for 15 mins until softened, then add the garlic, oregano, cinnamon and cumin, and fry for a minute. Add the tomato purée and cook for another minute. Tip in the tomatoes and green lentils along with half a can of water, season and simmer for 15 mins until thickened.
• Fill a large saucepan with lightly salted boiling water and cook the potato slices for 7 mins. Drain well. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. In a 25 x 30cm baking dish, start by adding a third of the tomato sauce, topped with a third of the aubergine slices and a third of the potato slices. Repeat twice more.
• For the white sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, then tip in the flour and cook, stirring, for a minute. Gradually add the Elmlea Plant Double, a little at a time, whisking well between each addition. Season well and grate in some nutmeg to taste. Continue whisking until the mixture has come to a simmer and has thickened slightly, then pour straight over the moussaka. Bake for 30 mins until bubbling, then grill for 5 mins to brown the top.