After a week of pretty intense fashion show induced exhaustion I was more than excited for a Friday night at home - just me, myself and I PLUS a delicious, healthy and wholesome meal to send me in a much needed food coma and bed by 9pm!
Indeed there is nothing more therapeutic to me than a dinner that takes a little bit of labour, chopping and cooking away to make whilst I enjoy a good glass of wine. A good dinner can take a few hours and when you have the time there is nothing better!
I love to cook with aubergine anyways (I still drool over the outstanding aubergine parmigiana I made at some point during lockdown) and had always been intrigued to find a veggie friendly alternative to the classic Greek Moussaka.
A disclaimer to start with: authentic moussaka is made with lamb mince and a heavy béchamel sauce on top, so my version, made with a fragrant chickpea, lentil and mushroom tomato sauce, layers of pan fried aubergine and a lighter yogurt, nutmeg and parmesan topping, will not please a Greek cuisine purist but it is a bloody tasty twist on the dish and the sort of comfort food I was in such dire need of.
A healthy yet satisfying dinner for 2, especially for those darker autumn days.
SERVES 2
INGREDIENTS
- 2 medium aubergines
- 300 ml vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion sliced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 80g green lentils
- 200g mushrooms sliced
- 1 tin chickpeas, drained
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese grated
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Extra parmesan and a little dried oregano to sprinkle on top
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Slice the aubergine into rounds approximately 0.5cm wide and layer in a colander with salt for 30 mins, then rinse and pat dry.
- Bring the lentils in the vegetable stock along with the bay leaf to the boil then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes and then drain them.
- Saute the onion and garlic in 1 tbsp of the olive oil for 5 minutes.
- Add the drained lentils, mushrooms, chickpeas, tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, oregano, cinnamon, thyme and water – bring to the boil then lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Season the veggie mix with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Fry the aubergine slilces in the remaining tablespoon of oil for 5 minutes, flipping after 3 minutes.
- In an oven proof dish layer the aubergine slices with the vegetable mixture.
- Make the creamy topping by beating together the egg, parmesan cheese, yogur and nutmeg. Season to taste.
- Sprinkle with remaining cheese and a lilttle oregano.
- Spoon the creamy topping over the moussaka and pop the dish into the oven for 45 minutes or until golden on top.
- AND ENJOY!