Vegan Moussaka - Brunch Folks

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 1 hr

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Start with preparing the eggplant. To do this, remove the stem of the aubergine and cut about 0.5 inch (1 cm) thick slices lengthways. Now lightly salt the eggplant and place in a colander for about 30 min. This will drain the eggplant of excess moisture and prevent the moussaka from becoming too watery and soggy. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In the meantime, cut the potatoes into thin slices. And put them on a parchment-lined baking tray.
Now rinse the eggplants with water and squeeze out the remaining liquid.
Take a cloth and pat it dry lightly. Now put the eggplants on a baking tray. And bake the eggplant with the potatoes for about 20 minutes, ensuring that the potatoes won’t get too dark.

Prepare the sauce while the eggplants and potatoes are baking. Add quartered mushrooms, pecans, carrots, celery, onion and garlic in a food processor and process it with the pulse function until the mixture is finely chopped. Make sure it doesn’t blend too long, or you’ll end up with a paste, not a chopped mass.
Now take a large pan and set the stove to medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and fry them properly. Add a sip of water every now and then so that nothing burns.
Now add the lentils, tomatoes and tomato paste and stir well. Add a pinch of cinnamon (optional), oregano, thyme, 2 bay leaves, paprika and pepper and let it simmer on low heat for about 20-30 minutes. Now add the red wine vinegar and season the sauce.

For the bechamel sauce, put all the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until a creamy mixture is created.
Now put everything in a saucepan and heat it over medium heat, stirring constantly. The sauce will start thickening in a few minutes and must eventually be a thick cream.
Briefly season the sauce again to adjust flavors. Now take 1 tablespoon of the bechamel sauce and stir it into the “meat sauce”. Set the sauce aside.

Preheat the oven to (400°F) 200°C. Use a casserole dish that is about 8×12 inches (20×30 cm). Put some sauce on the bottom of the pan. Now layer the potatoes and then put half of the eggplant on top. Now put all the “meat sauce” on the eggplants and distribute them evenly. Add the remaining eggplants to the sauce. Now pour all the bechamel sauce over it and spread it evenly.
Now bake the vegan moussaka for about 60 minutes until it turns golden brown on top.
Then let the moussaka cool down until it is just warm to the touch. Once set, start cutting it into pieces. This makes the bechamel sauce firmer and it does not run when sliced.