Lentil Moussaka

Julie and I are off to Kefalonia in May so our first dish of the year had to be a Greek classic.

I searched high and low for an authentic vegetarian moussaka without success. I found so many variations but they all seemed to depart too much from what I would consider a traditional moussaka. Of course a real moussaka is made with mince beef or a mince pork/beef mix, so that's when I decided to adapt some authentic meat recipes, selecting what they had in common and of course substituting the mince with lentils.    

The finished lentil moussaka tasted absolutely delicious especially the warm cinnamon hit.

Ingredients

250g Puy Lentils

Extra virgin olive oil

500g Potatoes (maris piper or similar, peeled & sliced into 1/2 cm slices)

2 Large Aubergines (approx 900g) (sliced into 1/2 cm slices)

10g Tomato Puree

50ml Red Wine

8 cloves

5g Cinnamon

400g Chopped Plum tomatoes (tinned) 

175g Red Onions (finely chopped)

3 cloves Garlic finely chopped

Salt

Pepper

125g Plain Flour

125g Butter

1 litre Milk

1Egg

Method

Sprinkle the aubergine with a little salt. Place in a colander and cover with a tea towel for at least half an hour. Myth or not I still do it.

In a large saucepan add 50ml of olive oil and fry the red onion and garlic on a medium heat until soft.  

Then add the puy lentils, red wine, tomato puree, cloves and half the cinnamon. Cook for a few minutes. Add 500ml of veg stock and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Once the stock has been absorbed by the lentils add the chopped tomato.Cook for at least another twenty minutes over a very low heat, stirring occasionally, making sure the mix doesn't get too dry. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In another large saucepan add plenty of olive oil and bring to medium to high heat. Add the sliced potatoes (in batches) and cook until golden brown and soft inside. Place them on kitchen roll to remove the excess oil. 

Repeat with the aubergines (rinsed and dried), again fry them until they or golden brown then place them on kitchen roll to remove the excess oil. 

Start layering the moussaka in a large baking dish by placing a single layer of potato. (no overlapping) Followed by a layer of half the aubergine. A little overlap is OK. Next add all the cooked lentils, followed by the remaining aubergine.

Make the bechamel by warming the milk in a pan. In another medium pan melt the butter. Stir in the flour over a very low heat and cook for a minute. 

Gradually add the milk a little at a time, stirring the whole time as the milk gets absorbed. Keep on the heat. Once all the milk is added continue to cook for 5 minutes or so as until the mixture thickens. Then remove from the heat

Let it cool down for a few minutes then whisk the egg into the bechamel which should still be warm. 

Pour the bechamel over the dish and sprinkle the remainder of the cinnamon on top

Bake for 45 mins at 160C