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Rich vegetable moussaka recipe

Rich vegetable moussaka recipe

58 ratings

Created by The Tesco Real Food team

The classic comforting Greek dish has been given a vegetarian makeover in this hearty, healthy recipe that is suitable for vegans and uses peppers and courgettes instead of mince. It's perfect for a weekend family meal served with a crunchy green salad. See method

Ingredients

  • 3-4tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 2 medium courgettes, trimmed and thickly sliced
  • 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into roughly 2 cm chunks
  • 200ml vegetable stock (made with 1 vegan stock cube)
  • 400g chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp flaked sea salt, plus extra to season
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 3 small aubergines

For the topping

  • 600ml Free From soya milk
  • ½ medium onion, peeled and thickly sliced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 bushy thyme sprig
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 75g plain flour
  • 75g Free From sunflower spread
If you don't have chopped tomatoes, chop up a tin of plum tomatoes instead

Each serving contains

  • Energy

    1350kj
    325kcal     16%

  • Fat

    21g 30%

  • Saturates

    1g 5%

  • Sugars

    15g 17%

  • Salt

    2.3g 38%

of the reference intake
Carbohydrate 26.8g Protein 8.4g Fibre 6.6g

Method

  1. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large nonstick frying pan and add the onion. Fry over a medium heat 5 minutes or until soft and starting to colour, stirring regularly. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Increase the heat and add the courgettes and peppers. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
  2. Slowly and carefully pour the vegetable stock into the pan and add the tomatoes, tomato purée, oregano, thyme, bay leaf and sugar. Bring to a simmer and season with the salt and plenty of ground black pepper. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are starting to soften and the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally. As soon as it is cooked, turn off the heat and leave to stand.
  3. While the vegetables are simmering, prepare the sauce for the topping. Pour the soya milk into a large sauce pan and add the onion, bay and thyme. Bring to a fast simmer, then immediately remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
  4. While the sauce is infusing, prepare the aubergines. Preheat the grill to its hottest setting. Cut the aubergines into diagonal slices around 1cm thick. Place as many slices as possible in a single layer on a large baking tray. Brush with a little of the sunflower oil. Cook the aubergine under the hot grill for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
  5. Turn the slices over with tongs and brush with some of the remaining oil. Grill for a further 5 minutes then remove from the tray and drain on kitchen paper. Cover the baking tray with another batch of aubergine slices and grill in the same way. Continue until all the aubergine is cooked and drained.
  6. Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C, fan 180°C. To make the topping, strain the infused milk into a jug, discarding the onion and herbs. Stir the nutmeg into the flour. Melt the sunflower spread in a large nonstick saucepan over a low heat and stir in the flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  7. Pour a little of the soya milk into the pan, stirring continuously. When the milk has been absorbed add a little more. Continue gradually adding the soya milk until it has all been used. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
  8. To assemble the moussaka, gently pour the tomato and vegetable sauce into a 2 litre ovenproof dish – a lasagne dish is ideal. Place the aubergine slices on the top, overlapping where necessary. Pour over the white sauce so that it covers all the aubergine. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until bubbling and golden brown in places.

See more Vegan recipes

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