Vegetarian moussaka

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Moussaka is an eggplant- or potato-based dish, sometimes including ground meat (although this recipe is vegetarian), which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.

prep time

1 hr

cook time

1 hr

serves

Base ingredients

6-7 mix of - eggplants/ potatoes / carrots / capsicum
60 ml vegetable oil (for frying)

For the mushroom sauce

600-700g mushrooms, chopped
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 of a cup white wine (optional)
1/4 of a cup olive oil
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
one cinnamon stick
salt and freshly ground pepper
chopped parsley

For the béchamel sauce

875ml milk (3 and 1/2 cups)
100g butter
100g plain flour
100g butter
100g flour
a pinch of nutmeg
2 egg yolks
100g Parmigiano-Reggiano
Mashed potatoes (optional)

Method

Cut the vegetables into slices, aprrox.1 cm thick. Season the eggplants with salt and place in a colander for about half an hour.
Rinse the eggplant with water Pat them dry and fry in plenty of oil,
Place the fried eggplants and the rest of the vegetables on some paper, in order to absorb the oil.

Mushroom sauce

Heat a pan and the olive oil. Stir in the chopped mushrooms and sauté .

Method

Add the chopped onions and garlic and sauté. If using wine Pour in the wine and wait to evaporate.
Add the tinned tomatoes, mushing them with a wooden spoon, now add 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

Moussaka is an eggplant- or potato-based dish, sometimes including ground meat (although this recipe is vegetarian), which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.

The versions in Egypt, Turkey and the rest of the Middle East can be made vegan or vegetarian as well as with meat; in all cases, the main ingredient is the fried eggplant. In Turkey, mussaka consists of thinly sliced and fried eggplant served in a tomato-based meat sauce, warm or at room temperature. In Saudi Arabia muṣagga‘a is eaten hot, but in other Arab countries, it is often eaten cold, but occasionally hot as well.

The best-known version in Europe and the Americas is the Greek variant. Many versions have a top layer made of milk-based sauce thickened with flour (béchamel sauce). This dish is layered and typically served hot.

This dish is very common in Middle Eastern and Lebanese cuisine.

Dietary Information

Nutritional Information

Typical values*	per Serving	contents
Total Energy		1153 Kcal
Protein	9%	98 Kcal
Fat	39%	454 Kcal
Carbohydrates	52%	600 Kcal

Factoid

The English name for moussaka was borrowed from Greek mousakás and from other Balkan languages, all borrowed from Ottoman Turkish, which in turn borrοwed it from Arabic muṣaqqa‘a (lit. 'pounded' or 'cold').

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