Eggplant Potato Moussaka

By klgettins

Ingredients

• For the vegetable layer:
• 1 lb eggplant
• 1 lb zucchini
• 1 1/2 lbs russet-type baking potatoes (using large, long potatoes works perfectly in this recipe)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• For the sauce:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 large shallots, sliced thin
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup vegetable broth or red wine
• 2 , 15 oz. cans crushed tomatoes, with juice
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf
• salt to taste
• Pine Nut Topping:
• 1 lb. soft tofu
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
• 1 clove garlic
• pinch nutmeg
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
• white pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from theppk.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil three baking sheets or shallow pans.

Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and place each vegetable on a separate baking sheet. Distribute 1/4 cup oil between the three sheets and sprinkle vegetables with salt (except eggplant if salted already). Toss to coat, making sure each piece is completely coated with oil. Spread vegetables out with minimal overlapping. Roast the zucchini and eggplant for 15 minutes or until tender. Roast the potatoes for about 22 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool.

While vegetables are cooking prepare the tomato sauce. Add remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and minced garlic to a large heavy bottom sauce pot. Bring to medium heat and let garlic sizzle for about 30 seconds, then add shallots and cook until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine and simmer until slightly reduced, another 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, oregano, ground cinnamon and bay leaf. Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 12 to 14 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauce should reduce slightly. Turn off the heat, remove bay leaf and adjust salt.

Make the pine nut topping:

In a food processor blend together pine nuts and lemon juice, scrapping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula until a creamy paste forms. Add tofu, garlic, arrowroot, nutmeg, salt and white pepper. Blend until creamy and smooth.

Lightly oil a 9 x 13 pan and pre-heat oven again to 400 F. Spread 1/4 cup of sauce in the pan, then add a layer of the following; eggplant, potatoes, sauce, and half of the breadcrumbs. Spread all of the zucchini on top of this. Top with a final layer of eggplant, potatoes, sauce and breadcrumbs. Use a rubber spatula to evenly spread the pine nut topping over the entire top, smoothing out any uneven spots. Scatter a few pine nuts on top if desired. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until top is lightly browned and a few cracks have formed in the topping. Allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

This has long been one of my favorite Isa recipes. It tends to be a big hit when I’m cooking for non-vegans. I also like to use variations on the tomato sauce and pine nut cream when I’m coming up with other recipes of my own!

I am making this tonight with some adjustments. My husband does not like eggplant so I am using mushrooms -it will add some extra water but I think I made the proper adjustments. I also used walnuts instead of pine nuts. The sauce is so tasty and I will be using that in quite a few more recipes.

The sauce was too tangy for my liking. I added a tbsp if sugar and doubled the oregano. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!!

I made this last night, but I cheated a bit. I used 1 jar (26 oz) of Trader Joe’s Organic Marinara instead of making the tomato sauce and sprinkled a little cinnamon on the top layer of sauce. The flavor was good, but there was not enough sauce. If you’re looking to do this shortcut I would recommend using 1.5 – 2 jars of sauce. Also, my eggplant didn’t cook all the way. This could be because of not enough sauce or something else. I’ve got leftovers, so I’m going to try adding some more sauce to the baking pan and baking at 350 for maybe another 30 minutes (I’ll cover it with foil first). I also think this would be good substituting sliced portabellos for the eggplant. (For the record, I love eggplant.)

has anyone made this ahead? should i assemble it ahead and bake it before serving, or bake it ahead and just reheat?

I just made this and this is literally the most delicious thing ever! The only problem is I couldn’t get my layers to look as nice as yours in the picture….they kind of went all over the place when I cut into it….it still tasted great though!

OMG this dish is amazing!! So tasty and the pine nut cream would make both a tasty dip or a great substitute for bechamel sauce on lasagne. I agree with the people above who’ve stated this would be a great dish for non-vegans as well and i think they would enjoy!

mizmixit

Mixxie

I just made this from the cookbook version. YOU DEFINITELY need the parchment for the eggplant and potatoes (I used well-oiled foil for the first batch of veg and that seemed fine for the zucchini but I had to scrape off the eggplant and peel off the potato). This was way more delicious than I expected. I’m not a big eggplant fan but I was intrigued enough by the ingredients to give it a try. I’m so glad I did. The sauce is out of this world. I think I added a tiny bit more cinnamon then was called for but I love cinnamon. I will definitely make this again. I can’t wait to try it for a pot-luck.

Mixxie

Mixxie

The sauce is stupidly easy to make–garlic, shallots and canned tomatoes with some spices…it takes about 5 more minutes than opening a jar and is so worth it. PLEASE do not cheat and use jarred sauce. You will only be cheating yourself. I used good quality canned tomatoes (Sclafani) and the sauce is pretty much the easiest thing to prepare in the whole recipe. It takes less than five minutes to slice shallots and chop garlic and that is the only prep work involved int he sauce. The rest is opening a can and adding some spices. Why cheat there for goodness sake? You make the sauce while the veggies are roasting. Those folks who used jarred Italian sauce are missing out on the nuances of the homemade Greek-style sauce. Simply adding cinnamon does not cut it folks. I’m appalled actually. Maybe because I never by jarred sauce since the prep time in making a good marinara is only about 5 minutes and then it is just simmering time. You don’t even have to simmer it for that long.

Does anyone – Isa? – know if you can freeze the pine nut cream? I used it in a veggie pot pie and it was heaven, now I want to make it all the time and put it in everything! Can it go in stovetop sauces (like a tomato sauce to make it creamy) or does it have to be baked?

The recipe says “Serves 8″ – does that mean eight “normal people” or eight people, who tend to go for second/third helpings? (We’ll only be 4 and I don’t want to make too much or too little.)

Try grilling the vegetables, it’s a bit more work tending to them but less stuff to clean up and the results are well worth it. The grill marks, browning and even a little charring adds great flavor. Also, the zucchini will dry out perfectly.

We just used a variation of the pine nut topping on quinoa-stuffed baked peppers. I will use this topping recipe dozens of ways…it was spectacular both in flavor and texture. I substituted ground walnuts for the pine nuts and 1.5 tsp corn starch for the arrowroot. I also added 3 tbsp of nutritional yeast. Thank you so much for such a versatile “bechamel” sauce!

PS I use this pine nut topping recipe to make a fake sort of “feta cheese” and I use it with kale to make a spanakopita. It is DELISHES and vegans and non-vegans love it. Thanks!

Do you only add 1/4 cup sauce for each layer, then use the rest on the cooked pieces, or should I put all of it in the casserole?

I know I’m late to the party, but I wanted to add some substitutions that worked great. I had the eggplant and one small potato on hand. To use up some CSA bounty, I subbed celeriac for the rest of the potato, and it was lovely and mild. I wouldn’t hesitate to use celeriac instead of all of the potato. I used kale instead of zucchini; I steamed it and then chopped it small. Also used a 12.3 oz. package of silken tofu instead of a whole pound. It was perfection. I had to sneak a couple of cold bites in the middle of the night, and I just had it for breakfast.

Wow! This recipe is so wonderful. It makes a huge amount of food so I am wondering if anyone has tried freezing this dish?