Moussaka

~ jai

A rich Greek casserole of eggplant in red sauce, topped with a thick layer of cheese sauce.

Inspired by Allrecipes.

Moussaka

Print Recipe
Cook Time 3 mins
Total Time 4 mins
Servings 1 (each preparation makes 1 9x13)

Ingredients
  

Eggplant frying ingredients by volume:

  • 3 eggplant
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 4 cup peanut oil (or possibly more)

Red sauce ingredients by volume:

  • 2 yellow onion
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • .25 tsp salt
  • .25 tsp ground black pepper
  • .25 tsp ground cinnamon
  • .25 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 tbsp dried parsley
  • 12 oz vegan “beef” crumbles (eg. Smart Ground)
  • 15 oz tomato sauce
  • .5 cup red wine

Cheese sauce ingredients by volume:

  • 4 cup milk
  • .5 cup butter
  • .5 cup flour
  • .25 tsp white pepper
  • 3 cup grated parmesan

Casserole construction ingredients by volume:

  • 1 cup grated parmesan
  • .25 tsp ground nutmeg

Eggplant frying ingredients by weight:

  • 1300 g eggplant
  • 9 g salt
  • 850 g peanut oil (or possibly more)

Red sauce ingredients by weight:

  • 400 g yellow onion
  • 25 g garlic
  • 14 g butter
  • 1.5 g salt
  • .6 g ground black pepper
  • .6 g ground cinnamon
  • .6 g ground nutmeg
  • 1.6 g dried parsley
  • 340 g vegan “beef” crumbles (eg. Smart Ground)
  • 425 g tomato sauce
  • 120 g red wine

Cheese sauce ingredients by weight:

  • 975 g milk
  • 115 g butter
  • 72 g flour
  • .6 g white pepper
  • 210 g grated parmesan

Casserole construction ingredients by weight:

  • 70 g grated parmesan
  • .6 g ground nutmeg

Instructions
 

Eggplant frying instructions:

  • Lay out approximately 6 2-layer squares of paper towels and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
  • Peel the eggplant and cut it into 1/2 inch thick round slices. Lay the slices of eggplant on the salted paper towels, then sprinkle the top of the eggplant slices with 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside for 30 minutes to draw out the moisture. While the eggplant is sitting, begin preparing the red sauce.
  • After 30 minutes of sitting, use additional paper towels to squeeze some of the moisture out of the eggplant.
  • Lay out another set of paper towels, approximately 4 squares layered 4-thick.
  • Pour a layer of the peanut oil into a skillet and place over high heat. Quickly fry the eggplant on both sides until browned, adding more peanut oil when it gets low. Set the fried eggplant on the paper towels to cool and drain.

Red sauce instructions:

  • Chop the onions, and either mince the garlic or prepare it for pressing.
  • In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter and cook the onion and pressed/minced garlic until soft.
  • Add the salt, black pepper, cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and parsley to the butter/onion mixture. Cook for a couple minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
  • Add the vegan beef crumbles, tomato sauce and wine, and mix well. Simmer until the tomato sauce no longer tastes like alcohol, about 20 minutes. While the red sauce is simmering, make the cheese sauce.

Cheese sauce instructions:

  • Microwave the milk so that it’s slightly warmer than room temperature.
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth.
  • Lower the heat and gradually pour in the warm milk, whisking constantly until it thickens.
  • Season with white pepper, then melt the parmesan in.

Casserole construction instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 350º F (177º C).
  • Use another layer of paper towels to squeeze some of the oil out of the cooled eggplant.
  • Arrange a layer of eggplant in a greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover eggplant with all of the red sauce, and then sprinkle 1 cup of parmesan cheese over the sauce. Cover with the remaining eggplant. You may need to squish the eggplant slices a little to make them all fit.
  • Pour the bechamel sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the nutmeg.
  • Bake for 1 hour.