Moussaka (vegan) - Bulgaria

Moussaka is a dish that appears to be consumed in quite a few countries across the mediterranean. It is a delicious dish that normally consists of layers of meat (lamb or pork) in a tomatoey sauce, interwoven with layers of aubergine and potato. It's usually topped with a layer of bechamel sauce and cheese before being baked until golden. The Bulgarian version that I found most interesting was this one where they've used a yogurt based sauce to top the Moussaka instead of a traditional bechamel, it reminded me of the tave kosi I made earlier in the challenge. However, I have a small confession to make - my partner and I have recently decided to make an effort to have a more plant based diet - we're not going vegan, or vegetarian - just making an effort to reduce the amount of animal products we consume. This has come from researching the effects of meat on the body (Game Changers on netflix is a good one to watch) and also because of the environmental issues surrounding the mass production of animal products. So here's a vegan Moussaka recipe. A second confession to make is that I topped it with a sun-dried tomato crumb which was delicious but totally not authentic!

Serves 4

Ingredients

Tip: for everything that says chopped small - I used the food processor

• 1 tbsp oil

• 1 onion chopped small

• 400g mushrooms chopped small

• 1 bell pepper chopped small

• 1 carrot chopped small

• 1 cup red lentils

• 1 tin chopped tomatoes

• 1 tbsps paprika

• vegetable stock cube

• salt and pepper

• 3 large potatoes cut into thin slices (2-3mm thick)

• 1 large aubergine cut into slices (5mm thick)

• 2 courgettes cut into slices (5mm thick)

• 1/2cup flour (roughly)

• 3tbsp vegan margarine

• 2 cups oat milk or alternative.

• Sundried tomato paste (or tomato paste)

• 1tbsp of a herb of choice (I chose rosemary but basil or oregano should also work)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C.

2. Over medium heat add oil to a large frying pan. Once warm add all of the chopped onion, mushroom, pepper and carrot to the frying pan. Cook for 10 minutes until soft. While keeping an eye on the pan arrange the slices of aubergine on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

3. Add the stock cube, paprika, lentils and chopped tomatoes (with juice) about 2 cups of water to the frying pan. Once it's simmering cover and leave for 15 minutes until the lentils are cooked al dente. The mix should be saucy so add more water as necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Remove the aubergine from the oven.

5. In a large pyrex begin assembling layers of vegetables a sauce - I started with a layer of aubergine, a layer of courgette, sauce, a layer of potato and repeat until full. Leave to one side.

6. In a small saucepan over medium heat add 1 tbsp of margarine. Once melted add 1 tbsp of flour and mix together well. Slowly begin adding the oat milk and stir quickly to combine. It's important to add the milk slowly to prevent lumps.

7. Stir the sauce until it thickens, then pour over the last layer in the pyrex dish.

8. In a food processor add the remaining margarine and flour, as well as the tomato paste, 1tsp of salt and herb of choice. Wizz until you achieve a fine breadcrumb consistency. If you don't have a food processor rub the margerine and the flour together until you have a fine crumb consistency, then stir in the paste and herbs.

9. Sprinkle the crumb over the Moussaka and bake at 150 for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are cooked.