Moussaka & Tofu-Leek-Mushroom Tart
Vegan Moussaka
VEGTABLE LAYER
1 medium eggplant (about 1.5 lbs)
2 small zucchini (about 1/2 lb)
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 t dried thyme
Preheat oven to 375. Slice eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds, arrange in a single layer on a parchment covered baking sheet (or, for some lacking parchment, a baking sheet), sprinkle with salt, let sit for 30 minutes, then blot dry with a paper towel. This leeches the bitterness from your eggplant. Skipable, if you really don't have the time, IMO.
Slice the zucchini, arrange with eggplant in a single layer, brush both with olive oil and season with salt pepper, and thyme. Turn and season on other side.
Bake for 20 minutes, until softened. Set aside.
SEITAN LAYER
2 lg. portabellas
1/2 lb seitan
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced (or a lot more, if you're me)
1 1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t cinnamon
8 canned plum tomatoes or 2 large fresh tomatoes (peeled and seeded but I didn't)
1 t fresh lemon juice
Salt
Wipe dirt of mushrooms. Remove stems, quarter, and place in food processor. Add seitan and process until ground. Warm the oil in a medium skillet, add the onions and cook over med-low heat for 10 minutes, or until softened. Add seitan-mushroom mixture, raise heat to medium, and sautee, sitrring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms have released their juices and the pan is dry. Add garlic, cumin, cinnamon, and tomatoes, and cook for another 15 minutes or so, breaking up the tomatoes, until the mixture has dried out considerably. Add salt to taste, the lemon juice, and stir. Set aside.
MASHED POTATO LAYER
2 lbs russets (3 med, 5 small)
2 t salt
2 T olive oil
1/2 unflavored soy milk
1/2 t fresh lemon juice
White pepper (is nice, but not necessary, obviously)
Place unpeeled potatoes in a medium pot with salt and cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes, until tender.
Drain and reserve cooking liquid. Peel potatoes however you find easiest (I used a towel to hold, a knife to peel). Return to pot, mash. Add oil, soy milk, 1/4 cup of cooking liquid, lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
BREADCRUMBS
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (best using a few days old sourdough-put in food processor and go!)
1 garlic clove, minced (or more!)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
2 T olive oil
Salt
Toss in a small bowl. Set aside.
ASSEMBLY
Preheat oven to 350. In a deep 7x9 inch baking dish, layer the casserole. Start with half of the cooked eggplant and top it with half the seitan-mushroom mix. Spread half of the mashed potatoes evenly over the seitan-mushroom mix. Add another layer of eggplant, then the zucchini, then the remaining seitan-mushroom mix, and finally, the rest of the mashed potatoes. Set aside while you make the bechamel.
BECHAMEL
1 T olive oil (or vegan butter)
4 t unbleached white flour
1 c unflavored soy milk
1/4 t freshly ground nutmeg
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Warm oil/butter. Add flour and stir constantly over low heat 6-8 minutes, until darkened slightly. Whisk in soy milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Continue whisking 5-10 minutes until slightly thickened, do not let boil.
Pour evenly over the casserole, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs (I like extra....soooo good). Bake for 30 minutes, until the bechamel is set and the breadcrumbs are golden. Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
I found that I could've used a whole nother eggplant with this recipe, it shrinks so much when you sweat and bake it the first time! Seriously! I only got one thin layer out of my large eggplant. And extra of those delicious and flavorful breadcrumbs NEVER hurt.
Regardless of what I'll do differently next time, this dish is AMAZING, and is the only way I've ever prepared seitan to my own liking. While many vegan restaurants and sandwich shops can bbq or bread seitan in delicious ways, this is the only way I've ever enjoyed it on my own. It is rather preparation intensive, but sure to please anyone who doesn't hate mushrooms or eggplant. I really can't say enough good things about this recipe.
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Tofu-Leek Tart
with pine nut crust
CRUST
1/2 c pine nutes
1 c whole wheat flour
1/4 t baking powder
2 T olive oil
1/4 c unflavored soy milk
Salt
Preheat oven to 350. In food processor, process nuts with a few tablespoons flour until finely ground. If it looks okay, stop, because eventually it will get too pasty, which is not the end of the world here, but try to avoid it. Mix with remaining flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, soy milk, and salt. Pour onto flour-nut-baking powder mixture and stir until everything is combined. Oil a 9 inch tart/pie pan and put your dough in the middle and press down, out, down, out, etc etc until it eventually creeps up the eges and.. voila! Pierce the bottom a few times with a fork and toss in the oven for 5 mintues. Remove, leave oven on.
MUSHROOM TOPPING
1 T olive oil
6 cups sliced mixed mushrooms (choose seasonally or price wise. I just used crimini because they were cheap, but it'd be even better with some shiitake and oysters mixed in).
2 T shoyu/soy sauce
Heat oil over medium heat, add mushrooms and sautee for a few minutes, add shoyu, and let simmer for about 15 minutes, until the mushrooms have released their juices and the pan is almost dry again. Set aside.
TOFU-LEEK FILLING
4 T olive oil
3 c chopped leeks, white part only
1 lb firm tofu
2 T rice vinegar
2 med garlic cloves, peeled (or more if you're me!)
2 t barley miso
1 t salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 T arrowroot powder
2 t chopped fresh rosemary
Heat 1 T oil over med-low heat in a skillet. Sautee leeks for about 10 minutes, do not let brown. Set aside. In a food processor, combine tofu, 3 T oil, rice vinegar, garlic, miso, salt, and pepper. Process for quite a while, scraping down the sides. It should become completely smooth, with no grittiness left to the texture. Then add arrowroot and rosemary, process 30 seconds more to combine. Toss gently with leeks in a bowl, then fill your tart shell with this. Press your mushrooms on top. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes until lightly browned and set. let cool a few minutes, then serve.
I went and bought barley miso and arrowroot powder just for this tart tonight, and trust me THESE ITEMS WILL NOT GO TO WASTE BECAUSE I AM MAKING THIS AGAIN. And again. And every time I need to impress people. And again, and etc. I'm sure you could use corn starch and white miso in a pinch, but man. I am not worried about using up what I've bought at all. This tart was freaking AWESOME.
That's it, that's all, go make it, I swear.
*Both recipes from The Voluptuous Vegan by Myra Kornfeld and George Minot.