Jamie Oliver’s vegetarian moussaka
If there’s one thing Jamie Oliver is good at, it’s comfort food. Even when it’s vegetarian, like this vegetarian moussaka with sweet tomatoes, grilled aubergine and a creamy sauce with feta and porcini mushrooms. Good news: his new book Veg is packed with many more lovely recipes like this.
How to make it
1. Put the porcini mushrooms in a bowl with 500 ml boiling water. Peel and finely slice the onions and garlic. Pour 2 tablespoons of oil into a large, heavy-based casserole over a medium-low heat, fry the cinnamon stick for 1 minute, then add the onion and garlic. Pick the oregano leaves into the pan, add the vinegar, cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything is soft and lightly golden. Meanwhile, slice the aubergines lengthways into 1 cm-thick slices and cook them in batches in a griddle pan.
2. Scrub the potatoes, slice them into 1 cm-thick rounds and add them to the casserole with the porcini soaking water. Squeeze in the peeled tomatoes, add 1 tin of water and simmer for 30 minutes over a medium heat, stirring regularly. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 °C/gas mark 6.
3. Put the mushrooms, half the feta, the eggs and the milk into a blender, grate in half the nutmeg and blitz until smooth. Season the tomato sauce to perfection with sea salt and black pepper, then spoon half into a 25 x 35 cm baking dish. Cover the sauce with half the aubergine slices, drizzle over 4 tablespoons of the creamy sauce, top with the remaining aubergine slices and pour over the rest of the sauce. Crumble over the remaining feta and bake the dish for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling on top.
4. Delicious with a simple green salad dressed with lemon.
Sometimes I use grated halloumi instead of feta. Grilled courgette ribbons combined with aubergine are also delicious.
Photography: © Jamie Oliver Enterprises Ltd (2019 VEG) Photographer: David Loftus
Title: Veg
Author: Jamie Oliver
Publisher: Kosmos Uitgevers
Price: €29,99
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