Vegan moussaka with cashew béchamel

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 eggplant(s)
• 500 g potatoes
• 1 onion(s)
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• 500 g minced meat substitute
• ½ pack of pureed tomatoes
• red wine
• 150 g cashew nuts, soaked overnight
• 100 ml water
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp, heaped nutritional yeast
• nutmeg
• salt and pepper
• cumin
• oregano

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 40 minutes

vegan

Wash the eggplant, slice it lengthwise or crosswise, and let it sit with a little salt for 30 minutes. Finely dice the onion and garlic, peel the potatoes and cut them into 0.5 cm thick slices. Pat the eggplant dry. Sear it on both sides in a non-stick pan with a little oil and set aside on kitchen paper. Repeat with the potatoes. They don’t need to be cooked all the way through, and you don’t need to drain them on kitchen paper. Brown the minced meat in a pan with a little oil. When it’s lightly cooked, add the onion and fry until the onion is translucent. Add some passata and garlic, and cook over high heat for three minutes. Deglaze with red wine, add the remaining passata, and simmer over medium heat for five minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, nutmeg, cumin, and oregano. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/convection oven. For the béchamel sauce, place the soaked cashews in a blender with mustard, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, water, salt, and nutmeg and blend until creamy. My food processor doesn’t quite get the mixture smooth; it still has a fine crumb, but that’s fine. Adjust the seasoning if needed. Alternatively, you can make a regular béchamel sauce with flour, margarine, and plant-based milk. I chose the cashew alternative because it has a subtle cheesy flavor and isn’t as dry as the usual béchamel version. In a casserole dish or 24 cm stainless steel pan (make sure it’s free of plastic), layer the ingredients as desired. Finally, pour the béchamel sauce over the top and smooth it down. We lined the base with the eggplant, spread the minced meat sauce over it, then a layer of potato slices, topped with the remaining eggplant, and finally the béchamel sauce. Place everything in the oven on the middle rack for about 40 minutes. Check after 30 minutes, and if the béchamel isn’t golden brown by then, bake for another 10 minutes at 200°C or broil for another few minutes.