This moussaka is bursting with flavour, with layers of thinly-sliced potatoes. luscious aubergines .and topped with a creamy, cheesy sauce. Serve this wonderful dish with a fresh, leafy green salad like the Fattoush pictured (click here for recipe), a classic Syrian salad with pomegranate seeds and toasted flatbread croutons.
Ever since I was kindly gifted some Meatless farm products, I have been experimenting with cooking traditional meat mince with soya, as a healthy alternative. That being said, quorn mince also works perfectly for this recipe.
INGREDIENTS
x1 400g pack of soya/quorn mince
350g potatoes, sliced into 1cm sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried mint
x1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
250ml vegetable stock
3 tbsp tomato puree
1/4 of a jar of sundried tomatoes, sliced
2 medium aubergines, sliced into 1cm slices and griddled
200ml unsweetened Greek yoghurt
1 free range egg
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of sugar
60g of grated cheddar
Salt and black pepper to taste
METHOD
Preheat oven to 200⁰C, grease one medium pie dish
Place the potatoes in a bowl and add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt, roughly mix and place on a baking tray.
Bake for 20 minutes, turning half way. Once done, turn oven down to 180⁰C.
In the meantime, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan, gently fry the onion on a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and fry for a further minute. Add the soy mince to the pan, using the spatula to break up the chunks as you would beef mince. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the colour darkens. Add the oregano, paprika, cinnamon and dried mint and fry for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock and tomato puree and simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste.
Lightly whisk the yogurt, egg, nutmeg and sugar together.
Place one layer of aubergines on the greased dish top followed by a layer of roasted potato slices then a layer of mince and press down and repeat, finishing with a layer of aubergines and press down.
Pour over the yogurt mixture, allowing it to trickle through any gaps in the potato layer then sprinkle with the cheddar .Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until browned on top and piping hot.Stand for 5-10 minutes after cooking.
Serve with a crunchy, leafy salad and a glass of red.