Moussaka, the quintessential Greek eggplant casserole. It's not something I make everyday, but thought it would make a great Whole30 dish for dinner. Layers of eggplant, zucchini, spiced meat sauce and topped with a bechamel. Oh wait a second...Whole30...NO DAIRY! DOH!
Now I *could* make it without the creamy luscious topping but then it would be missing something. My only hope was to make some cashew cream and top the veggie and meat sauce layers. Sounds like a plan...right? Well, wait. The Whole30 community would say that could be considered SWYPO (Sex With Your Pants On). Basically recreating bad foods with Whole30 compliant ingredients (a good example: making pizza with a cauliflower crust, veggies and nut cheeses).
I waivered back and forth on whether to make Moussaka with the cashew cream or not. And I decided that there are way worse things I could recreate (apparently there's some magic egg, date and coconut cream concoction that makes the best coffee creamer ever?!?) This delicious cashew cream (that I would use on other things like pasta for an awesome dairy free Alfredo sauce) really isn't so bad.
We're enjoying it. I hope you do too!
moussaka
Prepare the Vegetables
3 small eggplants
2-3 medium zucchini
salt
olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice eggplant into 1/2" rounds; zucchini into 1/2" planks. Lay the vegetables on a parchment lined cookie sheet and sprinkle salt on the vegetables. Set aside for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, there will be moisture drawn to the surface. Using a paper towel, remove the moisture.
Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables and massage it into the flesh. Place the prepared vegetables into the oven and roast for 30-40minutes, until the tops are slightly browned. Remove from oven and cool. Set aside.
Prepare the Meat Sauce
I make this in a crock-pot the night before I plan to make this.
In a crock-pot place the ALL of the following ingredients:
10 oz ground beef
1/2 red onion chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
8 mushrooms finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 oz tomato paste
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup of water
Mix ingredients thoroughly. Turn on the crock-pot on low and cook mixture overnight. In the morning stir the sauce and check for thickness. The sauce should not be watery! If it is, turn it up to high. Once the sauce starts bubbling, remove the lid and reduce the sauce until it is thick. Set aside
Prepare the Cashew Cream (if using)
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup water, plus more for soaking cashews
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
Soak cashews in cold water (cover cashews) for 4hrs or overnight. Drain cashews and place them in a high-speed blender with 1/2 cup cold water, yeast and salt. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
Assembly
In a well-greased 8x8 baking dish, layer eggplant, meat sauce, zucchini, ending with meat sauce top. Be sure to leave enough room in the dish for the cashew cream. Pour the cashew cream over the meat sauce.
Cover dish and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes. Allow the Moussaka rest for 15 minutes before serving.
