members recipes

another version of the famous Greek mussaka

Ingredients
4 serves

4 potatoes( medium to large size) peeled and sliced
1 eggplant (large size or 2 medium size ) peeled and sliced
1 zucchini (medium to large size) peeled and chopped across its size
500 grms mushrooms chopped in slices
1/6 cup olive oil
salt
pepper
½ tea sp dry basil
½ cup soy cream
3 table sp of bread crumbs
1 glass red dry wine
200 grms of yellow cheese

for the top cream sauce
4 table sp flour
4 table sp olive oil
2 ½ glasses of soy milk
nutmeg grinds
salt
peper

Method
First of all I would like to make clear that this is not the original version of Greek mussaka.This is the “green“ version of the original mussaka. I use only veggies without minced meat at all. This is the version, we in Greece, used to cook, during the period of lent.
Ok now it time to start the preparation.
Slice all the ingredients and salt them. Salting them helps the liquids to be expelled from the veggies slices.
Additionally, you may season the potatoes with dry basil or thyme….do not use oregano.
Add some olive oil to the potatoes and care to apply it, on all of them.
Now it’s the precooking phase .In this phase I don’t use olive oil(contrary to the original version). Precooking the ingredients helps to expel, all the unnecessary liquids that will make our food dullness from veggies body.
Use a pan to precook the eggplant slices for 5 minutes . When the slices turned brown(both sides), add some wine(not much) and let it be evaporated. Set the eggplant slices aside.
Precook the mushroom slices . Season the slices with salt ,pepper and dry basil. Place them in a pan and cook them adding a small portion of water . When the water evaporated, add some red wine. Cook for 5 minutes and set the slices aside.
Do not precook the zucchini slices. Just season them, with salt and pepper, and let them expel their liquids.
When you will have finished all the precook job, you may start to place the ingredients in a baking pan or in a Pyrex ( I prefer this one).
Apply a portion of bread crumbs on the bottom of the pyrex and some olive oil. Care to cover all the surface with crambs. The first layer of your green mussaka will be created of potato slices. Apply them one by one, trying to cover all the surface. The next layer will be created of eggplant slices . Now add some portion (3-4 table sp)of olive oil . This will help the food to be cooked smoothly. The next layer will be from zucchini slices and above them apply the rest of the eggplant slices.
Now add the grinded cheese, and the last layer you have to apply is the rest of the potato slices.
Add ½ of glass water and the rest of the olive oil . Salt the top and bake for 50 minutes in medium to low temperature.
Now its time to make the cream sauce you will apply on top.Make parallel work while your food is baking.
Add 4 sp of flour in a casserole, and mix with 4 table sp of olive oil. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Mix well and then heat gently. Do not overheat the mixture, and keep mixing, till you will create a brownish mixture . Now add the soy milk., while keep mixing. Set the sauce aside while you still keep mixing. Now you will see the sauce thicken.
Pull the baking pan out of the oven, and add on top of the food, ½ cup of soy cream and apply the cream sauce all over the food , using a wooden spoon. Care to apply it on all of the surface. Add nutmeg grinds and place the pan again inside the oven. Bake till the cream turned into a gold fluffy layer…..
Set the pan out of the oven and let it “rest “ for a quarter of an hour. Then its ready to be served.
I have to notice once again, that this is another version of the “Greek mussaka” and its not the original one.
In the original version, we don’t use zucchinis, but we use minced meat and we fry the ingredients, gently in olive oil, before we lay them in a pan.
Hope you will enjoy it.