Pareve moussaka with lentils, roasted aubergines and olive oil béchamel

pareve Israeli and Mediterranean · regular · 110 min, including 50 hands-on

Layers of meltingly tender roasted potatoes and aubergines, whole lentils in a tomato sauce with cinnamon, bay and red wine, topped with a thick olive oil and soya béchamel, bound with egg, that sets in the oven beneath a golden breadcrumb crust.

Ingredients for two

Method

1. Cut the unpeeled aubergines into 1 cm rounds, spread in a colander or on a tray, sprinkle both sides with 3 g salt and leave to draw out moisture for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 220°C fan. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes, cut into 7–8 mm rounds and toss in a bowl with 10 g oil and 1 g salt, then spread without overlapping on a tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes, until a knife tip enters without resistance and they are barely golden. Take them out without waiting for the aubergines.
2. Thoroughly pat the aubergines dry with kitchen paper; they will have released brown liquid. Put in the mixing bowl with 30 g oil and turn by hand until each slice is glossy on both sides. Spread on the second tray lined with baking paper and roast for 25–30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes, until golden brown on both sides and soft in the centre. If still pale and firm, cook for another 5 minutes: under-roasted aubergines make a spongy moussaka.
3. As soon as the aubergines are in the oven, rinse the lentils under cold water, put in a saucepan with the 600 g cold water, without salt, and bring to a simmer. Cook over a medium-low heat for 18–20 minutes, until tender to the bite but still whole. Drain in a colander and set aside.
4. At the same time, heat 10 g oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat. Cook the onion for 6 minutes until pale golden. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then the tomato purée for 1 minute, stirring to let it brown slightly. Add the cinnamon, oregano, bay leaf and clove, stir for 15 seconds without burning, then pour in the red wine and reduce almost completely for 1 minute, until the smell of alcohol has gone.
5. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and their juices, add 2 g salt and half the pepper. Taste and add the sugar only if the sauce is acidic. Simmer uncovered over a medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the drained lentils and cook for just 5 minutes more: the sauce should be thick, with no puddle of liquid when a spoon is drawn through it, and the lentils still whole. Remove the bay leaf and clove.
6. Once the aubergines are out, reduce the oven to 190°C. Oil the base and sides of a deep 24 × 18 cm baking dish with 5 g oil. Arrange the potatoes in a close-fitting layer, cover with half the aubergines, spread over the lentils in tomato sauce, then add the remaining aubergines without pressing down. Warm the soya drink in the microwave for 1 minute, or in the rinsed lentil saucepan: it should be warm, not boiling.
7. In a saucepan, heat 30 g oil over a medium-low heat, add the flour and whisk for 1–2 minutes. The roux should be smooth and foamy, not sandy, and should not colour. Add the warm soya drink in three additions: first 100 g, whisking to a thick, lump-free cream, then the rest in two additions, waiting until smooth between each. Add 3 g salt, the nutmeg and remaining pepper. Simmer over a low heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring along the bottom with the whisk. The béchamel should thicken noticeably, coat the whisk and no longer smell of flour or soya.
8. Remove from the heat, wait 2 minutes, then pour in the beaten egg, whisking quickly and constantly: it should blend into the béchamel without setting in strands. Immediately pour the béchamel over the aubergines and smooth to the edges. Mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining 5 g oil and scatter over the entire surface.
9. Bake at 190°C for 30–35 minutes, until the sauce bubbles around the edges and the top is golden brown and set, with no wobble when the dish is gently shaken. There is no need to grill: the egg and breadcrumbs form the crust.
10. Rest out of the oven for 12 minutes before dividing in two: the layers firm up and the béchamel slices cleanly. Cut right down to the base with a spatula to lift the potatoes along with the aubergines and sauce.

On your plate

Cooking tips

Choose a plain, unsweetened soya drink with no vanilla and pareve certification; the long cooking of the roux and the egg remove its flavour. Salt and thoroughly roast the aubergines, reduce the sauce and cook the lentils in it for only 5 minutes: these steps make a meltingly tender moussaka, neither watery nor mushy. You can prepare the roasted vegetables and lentil sauce a day ahead and refrigerate separately; make the béchamel on the day, just before assembling. A moussaka assembled from cold needs 40–45 minutes in the oven instead of 30–35. Resting is part of the recipe. It is just as good warm the next day, reheated covered at 160°C, so set aside a portion for Saturday lunch. As a fallback without dried lentils, add 1 × 400 g tin (265 g drained and rinsed) off the heat once the sauce has reduced, with no further cooking, and skip step 3. For a meat-free evening, replace the soya drink with milk and grate 40 g kashkaval into the béchamel: this makes the dinner dairy, unsuitable for a meat meal.

Equipment : 2 baking trays, baking paper, mixing bowl, colander, sauté pan, 1.5-litre saucepan, whisk, bowl, 24 × 18 cm baking dish, 6 cm deep

Greek layered moussaka with potatoes, aubergines, cinnamon sauce and béchamel, inspired by the dairy-free Lenten version (nistisimi): lentils replace lamb and the béchamel uses olive oil. The egg, retained to help it set, comes from the béchamel of classic moussaka.