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Veggie Moussaka 

Sally came up with this idea after her son suggested a recipe he had tried replacing the lamb mince with mushrooms. It is inspired by a number of recipes taking parts from several people including recipes by Jamie Oliver and of course, Ottolenghi.

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Prep: 40 mins (which includes cooking time of the base sauce)

Cook: 20-30 mins baking

Serves: 6

Vegetable moussaka.jpeg
Vegetable moussaka.jpg

Ingredients

  • 2 large aubergines, sliced into 1cm thick slices

  • 600g button mushrooms, cleaned and diced finely

  • 1 large onion chopped finely

  • 1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed

  • 1 medium sized tin of lentils (400g)

  • 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (400g) 

  • 2 mushroom stock cubes

  • Handful of chopped fresh herbs eg sage, rosemary or oregano

  • Tomato paste (approx. 1 tbsp but depending on how much you need to thicken the base sauce)

  • 125ml (or whatever you have to hand) of red wine

  • Olive oil

  • Salt & Pepper

  • Optional: potatoes, parboiled and cut into 1cm thick slices

Topping

  • 250g crème fraiche

  • 2 egg yolks (or 1 whole egg and 1 yolk)

  • 1.5 tbsp plain flour

  • 60g pine nuts, toasted

  • 1 pack feta cheese, crumbled (approx 200g)

  • 70g grated parmesan or other hard cheese such as pecorino or kefalotyri

Method

Salt the aubergine slices in a colander until moisture is drawn out, then rinse, lay out on a lined baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and bake in hot oven (200C) for approx 30 mins until soft and golden.

Meanwhile, finely dice the mushrooms and onion and soften the onion and crushed garlic in a large pan in a drizzle of olive oil Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 mins along with some chopped herbs of your choice (eg rosemary, sage or oregano), then add the drained tin of lentils, the tomatoes with their juice and rinse the tin with red wine (leftover wine is fine). Add a mushroom stock cube and then bring everything to a simmer and cook until the wine has cooked down and all the ingredients are well combined – about 20-30 mins. Add tomato purée to thicken at the end as needed so that approximately the consistency of a bolognaise sauce.

 

For the topping, whisk together the crème fraiche, egg yolks and flour along with half the parmesan, black pepper and 1/4tsp salt (not too much because the feta is salty). Alternatively you can make a smooth creamy bechamel sauce to which you add the cheese.

 

Take a baking dish and layer the mushroom mixture at the bottom, then add a layer of cooked aubergines, another layer of mushroom and finish with one more layer of aubergines. Spread the topping over and sprinkle with the feta, the remaining parmesan and the pine nuts.

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NOTE: 

-Adjust amount of cheese to taste – I like plenty!

-Moussaka traditionally has a potato layer which I leave out so as not to be too heavy but you can always parboil 1cm thick slices of skinned potato for about 5 mins then roast them for another 30 mins until golden and layer them into the dish before adding the final topping.

 

Bake in the oven until golden and bubbling – approx. 20 mins if mushroom layer and aubergines have just been prepared ie still warm.

 

Serve with a simple tomato salad or a rocket salad dressed with oil and balsamic or some of that roasted crunchy kale.

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Wine

Sally thinks this pairs beautifully with a fruity red, preferably Merlot. We tested both of my red wines and Prince was just delicious with the tannin and fruit complementing the mushrooms and cheesiness. So a fruit-forward and easy drinking Fronsac is perfect here because the layers of flavours of much more complex wines (with a higher price tag) would be lost. And this is likely to be an easy mid-week meal rather than a dinner party dish!

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Wendy says: Mushrooms, tomatoes, aubergines all pair perfectly with a red wine, fruitier the better. Stay in the same style as Prince with a Saint Emilion Satellite, from similar sols and topography try Château Guibeau an organic wine from Puisseguin Saint Emilion. 

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