Recipe of the Week: Vegan and Gluten-Free Moussaka

Here is Chef Alex Schenck’s delicious (yes, we were able to sample it) recipe. Don’t forget to watch the video as well.

Vegan and Gluten-Free Moussaka

This delicious Greek casserole just keeps on giving; its tender vegetable layers will wow you right out of the oven, and when you re-heat a piece it the next day you’ll be amazed that it can taste even better. This versatile dish could be the highlight of a dinner party packed in a school lunch and it goes well with almost any Mediterranean style sides or salads.

Vegetables:

1 lb. Eggplant

1 lb. Zucchini

1 ½ lb. russet (peeled) or large red potatoes (not peeled)

Olive oil to coat the vegetables

Tomato Sauce:

¼ cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 shallots, minced

4 tsp. capers

½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

½ tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. ground fennel seed

½ cup of cabernet sauvignon (or other red wine)

2 (16oz) cans of crushed fire roasted tomatoes

 1 tsp salt

Black pepper

Cream topping:

1 lb. Firm MoriNu brand aseptic tofu (or silken tofu)

2/3 cup Cashews, toasted

3 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp. arrowroot powder

1 clove of garlic

Freshly grated nutmeg to taste (about ¼ tsp.)

1 ¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. white pepper, or to taste

Water

½ cup toasted, fine bread crumbs from gluten-free brown rice bread

PREHEAT the oven to 400˚ F. Lightly oil three baking sheets.

Vegetables:

Wash all the vegetables and remove any stems. Slice the eggplant, zucchini, and potatoes lengthwise in to slices about ¼ inch or smaller. I use a mandolin slicer for this, but a sharp chef’s knife would work just fine. Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and set aside on a paper towel to drain for about 15 minutes. Wipe off salt and eggplant liquid with a damp paper towel.

Place each vegetable on a separate baking sheet, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with a little salt (except the already salted eggplant), and toss to coat.  Spread out the vegetables fairly evenly and roast in the oven until tender. The eggplant and zucchini will take about 15 minutes and the potatoes about 20 minutes. Let cool. Carefully squeeze some of the excess water out of the zucchini slices by the hand full. Set aside until you’ve finished the sauce and cream.

Tomato Sauce:

While the vegetables are in the oven make the tomato sauce.

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the oil. Add the garlic and shallots and sauté for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the capers, pepper flakes, oregano, and fennel. Sauté for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the wine and use a mettle spatula to scrape the flavorful browned bits from the pan. Add the tomatoes and salt and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until thickened.

Cream topping:

In a food processor or high power blender, blend the nuts, lemon juice, and garlic until a smooth paste forms. Add the tofu arrowroot, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Blend until smooth, adding a small amount of water to if blending is difficult.

To assemble:

Lightly oil a 9 X 13” pan and turn the oven back to 400˚. Spread ¼ cup of sauce on the pan and sprinkle about 1/8th cup of bread crumbs over it. Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom and top with a layer of eggplant slices. Add half of the remaining sauce and half of the bread crumbs. Top with a layer of all of the zucchini then the rest of the potatoes, eggplant, sauce and bread crumbs (in that order).  Use a rubber spatula to carefully smooth out the cream sauce over the top layer.

Bake for 35 minutes, until the cream layer is lightly browned. Allow to cool about 10 minutes and serve.