You’ll fall deep into comfort food heaven after tasting this Vegan Moussaka. This Greek layered casserole is delightfully indulgent, featuring layers of roasted potatoes and eggplant, a rich “meat” sauce, and an incredible vegan bechamel.
– Eggplant – Kosher salt – Yukon gold potatoes – Olive oil – Dried oregano – Garlic cloves – Black pepper – Yellow onion – Cinnamon stick – Thyme leaves – Ground cloves – Red pepper flakes – Tomato paste – Vegan ground meat – Cremini mushrooms – Dry red wine
Peel and slice the potatoes slightly thicker than the eggplant. Toss with oil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Transfer to a second sheet pan in a single layer, without overlap. Roast the eggplant and potatoes.
Add the onion to a hot sauté pan with oil. Cook until soft and golden, then stir in the garlic, cinnamon stick, thyme, cloves, chile flakes, and tomato paste. Add the vegan ground meat and cook for a few minutes until it’s a bit browned. Add in the mushrooms for 2 to 4 minutes.
Deglaze with the red wine and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom. Cook for a few minutes, or until the smell of alcohol burns off. Pour in the tomatoes, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and mushroom powder into the pan.
Blend the soaked and rinsed cashews with the water, nutmeg, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Now add the butter to a saucepan. Once melted, whisk in the flour and whisk constantly until a paste forms.
Slowly pour in the cashew cream in stages while continuously whisking to prevent clumps. The finished texture should be very thick and creamy. Once it reaches that point, take the pot off the heat.
Line the bottom of a baking dish with the roasted potato slices. Top with half of the meat sauce. Now add the eggplant slices on top, then the rest of the meat sauce. Pour the bechamel on top and spread it to the edges. Sprinkle panko breadcrumbs over the bechamel. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Bake the moussaka until the bechamel is lightly browned in spots, about 35 minutes