Vegetarian moussaka
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 4–6
This really easy vegetarian moussaka is the comfort food you need in your life. It's also gluten-free and packed with fibre-rich lentils.
Each serving provides 347 kcal, 17g protein, 45g carbohydrates (of which 11g sugars), 9g fat (of which 5g saturates), 9g fibre and 1.1g salt.
Ingredients
- 160g/5½oz red lentils
- 650g/1lb 7oz floury potatoes, scrubbed
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 4 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 vegetable stock cube (use gluten-free stock if needed)
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
- 2 large aubergines, thinly sliced
- 250g/9oz ricotta
- 50g/1¾oz mature cheddar, grated
- freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Put the lentils in a bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside to soak.
Put the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 15–18 minutes until just tender.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan or sauté pan. Add the onions and cook over a medium heat for 5–6 minutes until just softening.
Add the garlic, thyme, oregano and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute, stir in the tomato purée and cook for a further minute.
Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Fill the tomato tin with water and add to the pan. Do this once more and add the stock cube (this should be 800ml/1pint 8fl oz water in total).
Drain the lentils and stir into the tomato sauce. Bring to the boil and simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes until the lentils are soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the parsley.
Meanwhile, drain the potatoes and run under cold water until cool enough to hold. Using a spoon, scrape the skin off of the potatoes, then cut into slices about 7mm/⅜in thick and set aside.
Heat a griddle pan until hot. Griddle the aubergine in batches until browned and softened (alternatively, rub the aubergines slices in a little oil to prevent them sticking and use a frying pan).
Spoon half the lentil sauce into a medium ovenproof dish then layer half the potatoes and aubergines over the top. Top with the remaining lentils, potatoes and aubergines.
Put the ricotta into a small bowl and stir in the grated cheese. Spoon the mixture over the aubergines and spread to cover the top.
Bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes, or until heated through and golden brown.
Serve warm with a green salad.
Recipe tips
Check the vegetable stock is gluten-free if necessary.
Floury potatoes include varieties such as Maris Piper and King Edward, but the cheap all-purpose white potatoes found in large bags at the supermarket are also suitable. You can also use new potatoes, but their waxy texture means they won't soften as much.
Aubergines have been bred to be less bitter than they used to be, so it's often not necessary to salt them nowadays especially if you are shopping in supermarkets. If you are unsure, put the sliced aubergines in a bowl, scatter over a tablespoon of salt, toss well and set aside for 10 minutes.
