Hey Everyone,

Moussaka is a dish usually made with ground beef or lamb and milk, but I’ve exchanged it for tempeh and cashew sauce here. I’m telling you, it’s just as delicious as its meat-filled counterpart. Although it is a little involved, I know you will love it!

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Preheat the oven to 450°

Ingredients:

EGGPLANT and POTATOES

• 2 large eggplants or 4 small ones (about 2¾ pounds), unpeeled and cut lengthwise into ½-inch slices
• 3 large or 6 small potatoes, sliced into thin rounds
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

TEMPEH FILLING

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 – 8 oz. package Soy Tempeh, crumbled
• 3 portobello mushrooms- finely chopped
• 2 assorted peppers- yellow, orange, and green- chopped
• 1 hot pepper, such as chili or jalapeno, chopped
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• ¾ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ t. ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
• ½ Freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 10 sundried tomatoes- pureed
• ½ broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf

CASHEW SAUCE

• 3 cups cashews- soaked for 2 hours in water
• 3 cups water
• 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 Tbs. Nutritional yeast

TOPPING

• ½ cup Breadcrumbs (use gluten-free breadcrumbs to make this recipe gluten-free)
• ½ t. salt
• ½ t. ground garlic
• olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• rind from 1 lemon, grated

Instructions:

Bake the Eggplant and Potatoes: Brush the eggplant slices on both sides with olive oil and lay out on large baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Cover with parchment paper and bake until the eggplant is soft about 25 minutes. On a separate cookie sheet, brush the potatoes with olive oil and lay out in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper.  Bake, uncovered until soft, about 25 minutes. Set aside.

Make the Tempeh Filling. Cover the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and heat on medium-high heat. Add the onions and carrots, and cook, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and garlic and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for about about 3 minutes more.  Make a space in the center of the pan, by pushing all of the vegetables to the perimeter. In the center, pour a little more olive oil, and then add the tempeh to the center of the pan, and cook until browned, stirring frequently. Add the oregano, allspice, cloves, and cinnamon. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add the Portobello mushrooms, fire-roasted tomatoes, and salt, and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the tomato paste, sundried tomatoes, broccoli, and bay leaf, and bring to a simmer. Cover, and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes., stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and set aside.

Cashew Sauce

Drain the cashews. In a food processor, pulse the cashews until finely chopped. Add the water, salt, nutritional yeast, and nutmeg.

Toast the Bread Crumbs

Coat the bottom of a heavy skillet with olive oil. Add the Breadcrumbs, garlic, lemon peel, and salt, and lightly brown for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley.

Assemble the Moussaka

Lower the oven to 350°. Spray a 10 x 16 x 2-inch Pyrex casserole dish with olive oil. Scatter ½ of the breadcrumbs over the bottom of the pan. Lay out the eggplant in the pan, overlapping the slices if needed. Spread half of the tempeh filling evenly over the eggplant, Lay out all of the potatoes on top of the tempeh filling, overlapping as necessary, and cover with the remaining tempeh filling. Pour the cashew sauce over the layered casserole and smooth with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with the remaining breadcrumbs and bake, uncovered, until lightly browned, about 45 minutes.

Remove the Moussaka from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.