Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Vegetarian Moussaka

This is really funny, what I am about to share, as my last post mentioned my husband wasn't a huge eggplant fan. As I said, we would have it now and then but....wow....this past week we have actually had it as a main ingredient 4 times!

Ok, that includes leftovers but I made two meals where the eggplant was prominent. Take a look at this serving of moussaka. Finely cut vegetables made layers upon layers of tasty bites.

mous

This dish has everything - eggplant, zucchini, onions, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes and lentils.
Here it is with the ingredients all merged together. I sprinkled feta cheese over the top. Now it bakes for 25 minutes before I pour bechamael sauce over it.

prebake

This came out so so much better than I thought it might. I was expecting to serve it with a big spoon because I didn't think it would firm up as lasagna does. But it did, and it was fabulous.

bakedmous

In trying to get into better shape we have been cutting back on meat in our weekly meal rotations. This is one dish we will certainly have again.

 Don't be put off by the lengthy list of ingredients but I will warn you - this meal takes about an hour and a half to get on the table. It's the 50 minute bake time and the prep that makes this a weekend meal.
 But totally worth it! 


Heat up some naan, prepare a spinach salad and open a bottle of Dreaming Tree Crush.  Perfection.

Vegetarian Moussaka

Ingredients

1 eggplant, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil, or more as needed
1 large zucchini, thinly sliced
2 potatoes, thinly sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
1/2 (14.5 ounce) can lentils, drained with liquid reserved
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups milk
ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 egg, beaten

Directions
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.

Next week I will share a baked ratatouille. It was a snap to put together.

I am sharing this with Beth Fish's Weekend Cooking Series.



Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

14 comments:

  1. That looks so good. We're trying to eat healthier, and that sure seems to be healthy. Don't know about the feta cheese though. Pinning it.

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  2. This does look good but despite the fact I know I SHOULD like eggplant I just can't seem to make myself actually like it! I've heard it's great as a meat substitute so I can definitely see why it's been on your meal list so often.

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  3. Vicki, you could probably substitute the cheese choice....maybe mozzarella.

    Katherine, well........if you don't like eggplant you may not like this. I cut this very thin and so you won't get the great cubes or chunks as there are in ratatouille. It is like meat though.

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  4. *BIG SIGH* I cannot get my husband to eat eggplant for love nor money and I love eggplant parm.

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  5. We've been eating eggplant lately too -- And, yeah, Mr. BFR joins the crowd of men who aren't crazy about the vegetable, though he'll eat it.

    I made an eggplant, tomato, zucchini bake thing yesterday.

    I love moussaka but have never made a vegetarian version ... must try!

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  6. Hi Tina, visiting from Weekedn Cooking, as Ia veggie I had to come on right over. I like moussaka and its been a while since i had some, with autumn around the corner, its will be on my list to make.

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  7. This sounds absolutely scrumptious!! Love eggplant dishes. Bookmarking right now. :)

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  8. I'm not fond of eggplant either, and it may be because it is a tiny bit like meat - in the texture, perhaps? But I'm interested in some of the other ingredients, and may try a variation of the dish.

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  9. I've saved that one to make - it does sound good. We have the same situation with eggplant though, husband not in favor, but when it can be disguised with good cooking, will eat.

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  10. Eggplant definitely elicits a variety of reactions -- some people love it, some really don't. Interesting that your preparation concealed the eggplant with all those other ingredients. Last year I made an absolutely classic rattatouille from Julia Child's book and it was worth it!

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  11. I would like to give moussaka a go. Have a great week. Cheers from Carole's Chatter

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  12. I do love a good moussaka with or without meat.

    Last time I made it my son informed me that he didn't like eggplant and therefore was not going to eat the top or bottom layers. He ate the middle layer though! I don't think he realised it was there.

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  13. Good morning and thank you all for the great comments! Off to see you now.

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  14. I love eggplant. I will definitely try this!

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