Cheap and Easy Vegetarian Moussaka
Servings
8people
Servings
8people
Ingredients
  • 1 large aubergine(or two smaller ones)
  • 1 large courgette(or two smaller ones)
  • 2 white potatoes
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 690g pasata
  • 1 large onion(finely chopped)
  • 250g mushrooms(diced)
  • 1can cooked lentils
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • 1/2tsp ground cumin
  • 1tsp dried oregano
  • 1tsp dried thyme
  • 3/4tsp cinnamon
  • 2tsp paprika
  • 1tbsp dried parsley
  • 50g butter
  • 50g plain flour
  • 650ml milk
  • 150g of grated cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • a few cherry tomatoes to top(optional)
Instructions
Béchamel Sauce
  1. Start with the béchamel sauce so it has time to cool. First, melt the butter in a saucepan on a low heat.
  2. Add the flour to the saucepan and whisk to form a roux.
  3. Add the milk at around 200ml at a time, constantly whisking, adding more as and when the sauce thickens. After all the milk added and the sauce has thickened, take off the heat.
  4. Stir in a teaspoon of mustard and the cheese and leave to cool.
Roasted Vegetable Layer
  1. Preheat the oven to 200C (fan)
  2. Slice the aubergine, potatoes and courgette into 1/2cm rounds. Add to a mixing bowl and drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil and add dried thyme, dried oregano and black pepper until fully coated.
  3. In a 9×13-inch baking dish, add 345ml of the pasata and 100ml of cold water and stir. Then line up the vegetables until the tray is full. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
  4. Whilst the vegetables are roasting in the oven, start on the sauce. Heat 1tbsp of oil in a large pan and cook the onion until sautéed. Add the mushrooms, courgette and garlic and fry for a 5 minutes. Add the cinnamon, paprika and dried parsley to the pan and stir. Add the lentils, pasata and stock to the pan and stir until mixed well. Bring to a simmer and leave to cook for about 30 minutes, until thickened.
  5. After 30 minutes of the vegetables roasting, remove the foil and roast for another 30 minutes.
  6. Once the vegetables have fully cooked, turn the oven down to 180C (fan).
  7. Whisk the two eggs into the béchamel sauce.
  8. Now it’s time to assemble. In the same dish, top the roasted vegetables with the lentil sauce. Then carefully top with the béchamel sauce, spreading it to cover all of the lentil sauce. Top with some sliced cherry tomatoes if you want (totally optional!). Cook in the oven for around 35 minutes.
  9. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes and serve.