Tofu Moussaka Food

TOFU MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• DO IN ADVANCE, E.G. THE PREVIOUS NIGHT: Place tofu on a plate with a heavy weight on top of it to press out excess moisture.
• TO PREPARE: Slice the aubergines, lay on a paper towel, and sprinkle with salt.
• Chop tomatoes. Chop onion. Mince garlic.
• Sauté the onion and garlic in half of the olive oil. When tender, add cinnamon, oregano, and black pepper. Stir to coat.
• Add chopped tomatoes and Maggi cube (or other bouillon cube of your choice). Bring to a simmer, lower heat, and simmer uncovered until sauce thickens.
• Cube tofu and add. Cook for another minute, then transfer sauce to separate bowl and set aside.
• Wipe aubergine slices with paper towel, then sauté in same pan with remaining olive oil.
• When golden brown, use half of the aubergine slices to line the bottom of a baking dish. Pour tofu-tomato sauce on top. Sprinkle with half the parmesan. Cover with remaining aubergine slices, then with remaining parmesan.
• Bake at about 240°C for 20-3- minutes or until it looks done!

VEGAN MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil 3 baking sheets.
• Veg: Slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick slices lengthwise. Places them into a colander and sprinkle with salt -- rub the salt around so that it reaches all sides on all pieces. Set the colander aside to sweat for about 15 minutes (takes away any bitterness).
• In the meantime slice the zucchini into similar 1/4 inch slices lengthwise. Peel the potatoes then slice the same way.
• Rinse the eggplant and pat dry.
• Place each vegetable onto it's own baking sheet. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of oil over all the veg, rubbing around so that all sides get covered. The eggplant will need a little more oil, and it does stick more easily. Sprinkle the zucchini and potato with salt. Spread out the veg, overlapping is OK and probably necessary to fit everything on. Roast all the veg until lightly browned around the edges - roughly 15 minutes for the eggplant and zucchini and 20 minutes for the potatoes.
• Tomato Sauce: Combine the remaning 1/4 cup oil and garlic in a large pan. Heat over medium heat and let the garlic sizzle for about a minute and then add in the shallots. Cook until transulcent, about 5 minutes. Add in the tin of crushed tomatoes (entire tin, no straining). Add the oregano, cinnamon and bay leaf. Leave that covered, to simmer for about 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken slightl and reduce. Turn off the heat and adjust salt to taste. Remove bay leaf.
• Topping: Using a food processor, blend the pine nuts and lemon juice into a paste. Add the tofu, garlic, arrowroot, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Blend until creamy and smooth.
• Putting it together: Lightly oil a casserole dish (ie 9 x 13). Reheat the oven to 400. Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of the dish, followed by a layer of eggplant, a layer of potatoes another 1/2 cup of sauce and half of the breadcrumbs.
• Assess how much eggplant and potato you have left. If you can do 2 more layers, then do another sequence of sauce/eggplant/potato/sauce. If you can only do 1 more layer then move on to the next zucchini step.
• Spread all of the zucchini over this, then top with another layer of eggplant/potato/sauce, and the rest of the breadcrumbs.
• Spread the pine nut topping on last, using a spatula to spread it out as best you can without disturbing the layers underneath.
• Bake for 40 minutes until the top is lightly browned and a few cracks have formed in the topping. Allow to set 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

VEGAN MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven at 400 degrees.
• 2. Slice your eggplant, potatoes, squash and zucchini*.
• 3. Sprinkle your eggplant with salt and layer and let drain in a colander for twenty-five minutes.
• 4. Spray cooking spray or use oil or Earth Balance on the cooking sheets before spreading eggplant, potatoes, zucchini and squash.
• 5. Bake for about 30 minutes; turn once.
• *don't bake the zucchini if you don't enjoy it super soft.
• 6. Chop onions; saute & add garlic when onions are just about done.
• 7. Add vinegar; reduce.
• 8. Add tomatoes w juice.
• 9. Add 1/2 can of lentils with about 1/2 the juice (or drain and use 1/2 can of water to reduce the sodium content).
• 10. Add Oregano, parsley and cinnamon; simmer for about 15 minutes.
• Bechamel: (this takes practice -- ).
• 11. Melt Earth Balance; stir in flour on medium heat.
• 12. Keep stirring and add milk slowly; stir out the lumps.
• 13. Set aside, and put on a lid (you don't want the sauce to thicken to much).
• 14. Stir in ground flaxseed (Optional).
• "Betta Feta Tofu".
• * (instead of making this, I just crumble tofu in a bowl; add the vinegar, and miso, and stir).
• 15. Cut tofu into 1" cubes.
• 16. Simmer in boiling water for about 5 minutes; drain.
• 17. Whisk water, miso, vinegar and salt; combine with tofu in a container; stir and refrigerate.
• (Crumble tofu cubes and use in place of feta -- use within 2 weeks).
• Assembly time!
• 14. Layer the potatoes in a casserole dish (suggested size: 9x13).
• 15. Followed by eggplant, squash and zucchini.
• 16. Add other vegetables if you used them.
• 17. Pour most or all of the tomato/onion sauce over top with crumbled feta.
• 18. Repeat the layers and sauce if there is any left.
• 19. Pour the bechamel (may need to be reheated); sprinkle with vegan cheese if you so desire; (looks very nice with the minced red pepper & tofu crumble).
• 20. Cover* & bake at 350° for an hour (remove cover for the last 15 minutes).
• * I am always too impatient to let the eggplants drain for 30 minutes beforehand, so I don't use a cover.
• Serve & Enjoy:).
• 421 cal (15g fat, 55g carbs, 20g protein).