Incredibly rich!

This Greek dish is traditionally made with the minced lambs or cows, but soy beans are definitely preferable, providing you with lots of protein, none of the fat, less calories, and they save you a lot of cash! This recipe is actually my husband’s specialty; his advice is to set aside an afternoon to put it together. A lot of work, but the taste and texture will make you forget the toiling.

1 cup soy beans
2 1/2 cups pure water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2-4 tomatoes, depending on the size, chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
sea salt and pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 lb eggplants, stalks removed and thinly sliced

“Cheese” Sauce:
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 cup oil
1 1/4 cups unflavoured soy milk
1/2 tsp prepared yellow mustard

Soak soy beans overnight. Drain the beans and place them in a large pot with 5 cups fresh water, and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam from the top (it’s the gas-producer in beans) and lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 2 hours or until the beans are tender. Drain and reserve 1 1/4 cups cooking liquid.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan with a little water; add the onions, celery and carrot, and fry gently for 5 minutes.

Stir in the reserved cooking liquid together with the tomatoes, tomato paste, marjoram, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Add the beans and bay leaf, cover and simmer for 1 one hour until the beans are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed to give a moist mixture. Discard the bay leaf.

Place the eggplant slices in a strainer, sprinkling them with salt and leave for about 1 hour to allow the water to drain off and remove the bitterness. Rinse under cold running water to remove the salt, then pat dry.

Place the slices in a single layer on a grill pan, brush lightly with olive oil, and grill for about 5 minutes until lightly browned, turning once. Repeat with the remaining slices.

Place one third of the eggplant in the bottom of a 7 1/2 cup casserole dish. Cover with half the bean mixture, then another third of the eggplant. Spread the remaining bean mixture on top, then finish with a neat layer of eggplant.

To make the “cheese” sauce, combine the flour, nutritional yeast, and oil together in a small saucepan over medium heat, until the mixture start to sizzle. Slowly whisk in the soymilk and mustard and cook over medium-low heat until it achieves a thick, cheese-sauce-like consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can also add a tbsp or so of tomato juice to make the “cheese” sauce look orangey, like cheddar would.

Pour the “cheese” sauce over the top of the moussaka and bake in a pre-heated 350 F oven for 30 minutes until the topping is browned. Garnish with parsley and serve hot with a vegan Greek salad. Mmmmmm.

Serves 6-8