My Favourite Moussaka Recipe
And it's meat-free too!
I'd like to be able to say that this moussaka recipe was handed down to me from my Dad.
But actually, it wasn't something that he cooked very often. In fact, I think he probably cooked lasagne more regularly.
It's probably because it's a very Greek dish as opposed to a Cypriot one (yes, the food is slightly different).
Whatever, I love it and have made it many times, with different recipes, ...and this is my quick veggie version.
Of course, if you want to make it with minced meat, you can do that too*
I'm not pretending this is an authentic moussaka recipe. But it is tasty, healthy and full of veggie goodness that will make your gut microbiome very happy.
Ingredients for Jane's Veggie Moussaka & Tomato-Olive Salad
(Serves 2 - takes about 45 minutes)
Cooking tools you'll need: large pan with lid, baking tray, ovenproof dish
- 1 aubergine, sliced into 1 cm thick rounds
- 1 medium sized potato, sliced into 1 cm thick rounds
- 1 red onion, chopped finely
- 1 courgette, chopped into small bit-size pieces
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- olive oil
- 2 tsp of dried oregano
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp sun dried tomato paste
- 1 red-wine stock-pot
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 440g tin of lentils, drained and rinsed
- 440g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 75g creme fraiche (I use fat free, but you do you)
- 40g grated Parmesan
- Salt & pepper
For the salad:
- 200g ripe cherry tomatoes
- 10 pitted black Kalamata olives
- Chopped parsley
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
How to make it:
Pre-heat your oven to 200C / 180C fan.
Lay out the aubergine and potato slices on the baking tray. Give them a good glug of olive oil. Place in the heated oven for 15-20 minutes; and remove when the potato slices are golden and the aubergine slices are soft.
While the aubergine and potato slices are cooking, heat a drizzle of olive oil in your frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and courgette, season with salt & pepper.
Cook stirring until soft and golden (6-7 mins). Add the oregano, tomato puree, ground cinnamon and garlic. Cook for another minute.
Stir in the tinned tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and stock pot. Half fill the empty tomato tin with water, swill out the tin to get all the tomatoes out and add to the pan.
Bring to the bubble and add your rinsed lentils. Stir them in well.
Lower the heat to low-medium, pop on a lid and leave to simmer for about twenty minutes. If it looks a bit dry, add a splash more water.
While your sauce is bubbling, prepare your Tomato & Olive salad.
Half the cherry toms and place them in a bowl. Give them a little grind of salt. Slice the Kalamata Olives in half and add them to the bowl. Now add your chopped parsley (as much as you like!) and a really good glug of EVOO. Mix it all up.
Once the sauce is ready, transfer half of it to the oven-proof dish. Layer the slice potatoes over the top.
Add the rest of the sauce and layer the sliced aubergines.
Finally, dollop over the creme fraiche and then spread it out evenly. Finish with sprinkling over the grated Parmesan and some ground pepper.
Switch your grill to high and place the moussaka under the grill. Cook until the cheese is bubbling, about 5 mins,
If this was authentic, you'd be leaving this to cool to tepid before serving. But I prefer food that is mouth-burningly hot so would usually serve immediately alongside my tomato & olive salad.
ENJOY!!
* If you want to use minced meat instead of lentils, brown off the mince until there's no pink meat remaining before cooking anything else. Pop it aside, fry the onions etc, then add the mince back in at the same point you'd add the lentils.
