Greek Recipes / Main Courses / Vegan Recipes / Winter

Vegetarian Moussaka

Moussaka is a Greek dish traditionally made with lamb or beef. This vegetarian / vegan moussaka recipe uses portobello mushrooms and seitan instead. A rich and delicious main course.

Yield 6 servings
Time 2 hours
Tools
  • 2 baking sheets
  • paper towels
  • pastry brush
  • 2 plates
  • medium frying pan
  • wooden spoon
  • knife
  • food processor or blender
  • small bowl
  • deep baking dish
Ingredients
  • 1½ pounds eggplant (1 medium), sliced into ¼-in rounds
  • several t salt
  • 1 batch mashed potatoes
  • 1 batch bread crumbs
  • ½ batch béchamel sauce (1 c)
  • ½ pound zucchini (2 small)
  • 5 T olive oil
  • black pepper
  • 2 t thyme, minced
  • 1 c onion, finely chopped (1 medium)
  • 2 large portobello mushrooms
  • ½ pound seitan
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1½ t cumin
  • ¼ t cinnamon
  • 2 large or 8 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
  • 1 t lemon juice
Directions Arrange a single layer of eggplant rounds on baking sheet. Sprinkle each slice with salt, turn, and repeat. Let sit for 30 minutes. (While waiting, you can prepare the mashed potatoes, bread crumbs, and béchamel sauce.)

Meanwhile, slice the zucchini into ¼-in slices. Arrange in single layer on another baking sheet.

Rinse eggplant briefly and pat dry, rinse and dry the baking sheet, then lay out eggplant rounds again.

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine 1 T olive oil with pepper and 1 t thyme. rush this mixture over both sides of eggplant and zucchini, then bake both trays of veggies until softened, about 20 minutes. On two plates, make a stack of eggplant and another of zucchini and set aside.

Heat 2 T oil in frying pan, add onions, and sauté over medium-low heat until soft, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, briefly rinse the portobellos and pat dry. De-stem, cut into pieces, place in food processor along with seitan, and grind. Add to onions, increase heat to medium, and fry, stirring occasionally, until pan is dry, about 10 minutes. Add 3 cloves garlic, cumin, cinnamon, and tomatoes and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until fairly dry, about 15 minutes. Stir in salt and 1 t lemon and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350. Combine bread crumbs with remaining garlic clove, t thyme, and 2 T olive oil.

Arrange half of the eggplant in the baking dish, followed by half of the seitan-mushrooms, then half the mashed potatoes. Continue with remaining eggplant, then zucchini, then seitan-mushrooms, then mashed potatoes. Pour on the béchamel, then top with bread crumbs.

Bake until golden brown and not jiggly, about 30 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving. 

Notes Adapted from Myra Kornfeld’s The Voluptuous Vegan.
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Greek Recipes     Vegetarian Main Dishes     Vegan Recipes     Vegetarian Cookbooks