Vegetarian Moussaka Recipe With Mushroom Sauce Food

VEGETARIAN MOUSSAKA RECIPE WITH MUSHROOM SAUCE

Steps:

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

VEGETARIAN MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Rinse and pat eggplant dry. Cook eggplant and zucchini in hot oil until lightly browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side; remove with a slotted spoon to drain on a paper towel-lined plate, reserving as much oil as possible in the skillet
• Adding more oil to skillet as needed and let it get hot. Cook potato slices in hot oil until browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side; remove with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate, again reserving oil in the skillet.
• Saute onion and garlic in reserved oil until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in vinegar, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium-low; cook until liquid is reduced in volume and thick. Stir in tomatoes, lentils, 1/2 the juice from lentils, oregano and parsley. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes.
• Layer about 1/3 of the eggplant, 1/3 of the zucchini, 1/2 the potatoes, 1/2 the onions, and 1/2 the feta into a 13x9-inch baking dish. Pour tomato mixture over vegetables; repeat layering, finishing with a layer of eggplant and zucchini.
• Cover and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
• Stir butter, flour, and milk together in a small saucepan; bring to a slow boil, whisking constantly until thick and smooth. Season with pepper and nutmeg; stir. Remove from heat, cool for 5 minutes, and stir in beaten egg.
• Pour sauce over vegetables and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for another 25 to 30 minutes.

VEGETARIAN MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Boil spinach for one minute, drain and reserve the liquid.
• Put 450 ml of the water into a pan and add the lentils.
• Cover and cook over a medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tbs of oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion and garlic for about 10 minutes until soft and golden.
• Stir the mushrooms into the onions, increase the heat and season generously.
• Cook until juicy and darkened in colour.
• Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook briskly for 5 minutes until thickened but still quite liquid.
• Add the lentils and any cooking liquid, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon cumin.
• Simmer gently for a few minutes.
• Squeeze all the liquid out of the spinach and stir it into the pan.
• Add a little water if the stew seems too dry.
• Boil the potatoes in salted water, drain, cool slightly and slice lengthways.
• Pre-heat the oven to 400 F or 200 degrees C.
• Trim the eggplant and slice lengthways about 1/2 cm thick.
• Smear a baking sheet with remaining oil, lay out the slices.
• Bake for 15 minutes, turn and cook the other side for a further 5 minutes until soft.
• Reduce the temperature to 360 F or 180 degrees C.
• Take a 2-litre capacity dish at least 5 cm deep and make a layer with half the potatoes, then half the eggplant, followed by the mushroom mixture, the rest of the eggplant and the rest of the potatoes.
• To make the topping, melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and gradually add the milk and bring it to the boil.
• Simmer for a few minutes, add the parmesan and the ricotta mixed with the egg.
• Remove from the heat, taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Pour the sauce over the moussaka and dust with nutmeg.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is set and golden.

MOUSSAKA WITH ROASTED MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees with racks positioned in the middle and lower third. Slice eggplants lengthwise, about 1/3 inch thick. Line 2 baking sheets with foil and brush foil with olive oil. Place slices on the foil, season to taste with salt, and brush with olive oil. Place in oven and roast until soft and browned in spots, about 20 minutes, switching the pans top to bottom after 10 minutes. When done slices will look dry on the surface but when you pierce them with a knife you should be able to see that the flesh is soft. Remove from oven and carefully fold foil up over eggplant to make a foil packet, taking care not to burn yourself. It doesn't matter if the eggplant slices pile onto each other. Crimp edges of foil so that eggplant is sealed in the packet and leave to steam inside foil for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile make the meat and tomato filling. In a large, deep skillet or casserole heat olive oil over medium heat and add onions. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes, and add garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, and raise heat to medium-high. Stir in ground beef or lamb and brown for about 3 minutes. Stir in roasted mushroom mix, tomatoes, paprika, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, sugar, bay leaf, salt and enough water to barely cover meat. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. The mixture should be thick and very fragrant. Cook uncovered for another 5 to 10 minutes, until liquid in pan is just about gone. Remove bay leaf, taste and add salt and pepper, and remove from heat. Allow mixture to cooled slightly, then stir in 1 beaten egg and parsley.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 3-quart baking dish or gratin dish. Make an even layer of half the eggplant slices over the bottom, and spread all of meat sauce on top in one layer. Top with remaining eggplant. Bake for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat together eggs and yogurt, season with salt (about 1/2 teaspoon) and stir in pepper and paprika. Pour over top of moussaka, scraping out every last drop with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle grated cheese evenly over the top. Return to oven and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed and golden. Serve warm.

VEGETARIAN MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat.
• Sauté onion 4-5 minutes until lightly browned. Stir in mushrooms and zucchini and sauté 2 minutes.
• Stir in next 6 ingredients and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat and set aside.
• Turn on broiler.
• Arrange eggplant slices on an oiled broiler rack. Broil 3-4 minutes per side until browned. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce by scalding milk in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat until tiny bubbles appear.
• Remove from heat.
• Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until just bubbling. Do not brown. Slowly whisk in the flour, stirring constantly until smooth. Do not brown.
• Slowly whisk in hot milk, followed by half of the mozzarella cheese, stirring constantly 2-3 minutes until mixture is thickened.
• Remove from heat.
• Stir in seasonings and set aside to cool slightly.
• Preheat oven to 400°F in a fan oven or slightly higher in a normal oven.
• Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan and sprinkle the bottom with 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs.
• Place a layer of eggplant in the pan. Spread a layer of tomato mixture over top. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and some mozzarella cheese.
• Repeat layering as long as ingredients last.
• Pour the sauce over the top and bake 30-40 minutes, or until top is golden.
• Transfer moussaka to a wire rack and let stand 15-20 minutes before slicing.

MUSHROOM MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• Salt the eggplant lightly and bake on an oiled cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until tender.
• Saute the mushrooms in the 3 tbps. of butter along with the onions and garlic.
• Add the tomato paste, parsley, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, cinnamon and wine. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed.
• Add the bread crumbs, parmesan and beaten eggs. Remove from heat.
• Make a white sauce. Melt the 1/2 cup of butter over a low flame. Whisk in the flour. Then whisk in the milk. Keep whisking until thick.
• Beat in the egg yolks.
• Butter a large casserole dish. Cover the bottom with eggplant slices, then half the mushroom sauce. Add remaining eggplant and cover with remaining mushroom sauce. Top with white sauce. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and extra grated cheese if desired.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, covered with foil. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes longer.