Lentil Moussaka (with photo)

[farfallina]

Name of Recipe: Lentil Moussaka

Number of People: 6

Ingredients:

120g parmesan, roughly chopped
30g extra virgin olive oil
200g onion, quartered
3 cloves of garlic
150g green or red pepper, seeds removed, roughly chopped
400g canned diced tomatoes
400g eggplants
200g red lentils
120g red wine
1 tbsp thyme or oregano
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsps salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
40g butter
500g milk
40g flour

Preparation:

Chop parmesan for 15 seconds by speeding up gradually from 2 to 10. Set aside

Put oil, onions, garlic and red/green pepper. Chop for 5 seconds on Speed 5

Add diced tomatoes. Cook for 8 minutes at 100ºC on Speed 1

Cut eggplants lengthwise into 1cm slices and place them in Varoma Bowl

Add washed-drained lentils into TM Bowl. Add also wine, thyme/oregano, ground ginger, salt and black pepper into Bowl. Place Varoma.

Cook for 20 minutes at Varoma Temperature on Reverse/Soft Speed
    
Grease a little your baking tray.
    
Place eggplant slices one next to another. Spread lentil mixture on the top

No need to clean TM Bowl. Place butter, milk, flour and a pinch of salt. Cook for 8 minutes at 90ºC on Speed 4.
    
Add 60g of grated parmesan into bechamel sauce and mix for 5 seconds on Speed 4
    
Pour sauce over lentils. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan
    
Bake in preheated oven at 200ºC for 20-25 minutes
    
Take it out of oven. I'd recommend to let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving

Adapted with a few changes from the recipe called Moussaka di Lenticchie in the book named A Tutto Vapore

Photos: http://thermomixtarifdefterim.blogspot.com/2011/06/lentil-moussaka.html

members' comments

KerrynN - I love moussaka generally but DH doesn't. Having said that, DH, DS6 and I all loved it. DS9 wasn't too keen on the eggplant. In the end DH put his portion back in the TMX and "combined" it all together and he was happy with it then.
I didn't have enough red lentils (only 50g) so added the remainder as brown lentils. They could have done with another 5 or 10 minutes cooking but I didn't bother to taste until I had already spread it over the eggplant and started to cheese sauce. They cooked a bit longer while in the oven and while they were firm to bite they were still cooked. I actually liked the firmer texture in comparison to the eggplant.

[Cuilidh]

That sounds and looks delicious, farfallina ...... my sort of meal!

[farfallina]

Thanks Cuilidh
I believe vegetarians also would enjoy it 

[jkmt]

This vegetarian is certainly looking forward to trying it! Thanks.

[farfallina]

I hope you like it jkmt

[KerrynN]

I made this for dinner tonight. I love moussaka generally but DH doesn't. I thought this would be a good option, and decided to make his non-meat meal - that way if he didn't like it he had two things to complain about at once as he doesn't like eggplant. Having said that, DH, DS6 and I all loved it. DS9 wasn't too keen on the eggplant. In the end DH put his portion back in the TMX and "combined" it all together and he was happy with it then.

I didn't have enough red lentils (only 50g) so added the remainder as brown lentils. They could have done with another 5 or 10 minutes cooking but I didn't bother to taste until I had already spread it over the eggplant and started to cheese sauce. They cooked a bit longer while in the oven and while they were firm to bite they were still cooked. I actually liked the firmer texture in comparison to the eggplant.

I made it into two dishes and will probably have it for lunch tomorrow (or dinner when everyone else has fish and chips).

If I can brave the performance of the DS9, I will cook this again. Or maybe I will just "combine" his for him to start with...

[Lellyj]

Farfallina,

My son has been away in India for a month, due home in two sleeps (happily not in Mumbai, so away from all the drama unfolding there--my thoughts are with those people caught up in the terrorist attacks).  He has already emailed me and requested gnocci with your special zucchini sauce for his welcome home meal!  As there will  be a number of people visiting, too many to make gnocci for everyone!, I think I will make this dish as well.  We have loved all the recipes of yours that we have tried so far, so I'm sure this one will be a winner too!  I am intrigued to try the addition of ginger with the Italian style flavourings.  Will let you know how I go!

[farfallina]

KerrynN, thanks for your precious detailed feedback
I am glad you all liked it
Eggplants are not for everyone, I know some people who don't like them much but I love them

Lellyj, I am happy your son is coming back soon
I love gnocchi but if you have many guests I wouldn't recommend because they'd take lot time and effort
I love lentil moussaka
As an alternative I could recommend Bauletti
You can prepare crepes and bechamel the day before.  So they would be very practical to prepare

[Lellyj]

Thanks for your suggestion. I am going to make a bit of gnocci with your zucchini  sauce, as it is Jacob's favourite dish, but will cook one of the other dishes as well.  I agree, gnocci's too labour intensive to make for a crowd.  Thanks again!

[Bedlam]

Thanks to CC's link, I made this for our dinner last night.  I only had a small eggplant so I used a zucchini and some sweet potato. A tri- colour base.  I also snuck some kale into the sauce.  We all enjoyed it.  It did burn slightly on the base but not to taint the taste at all.
Thanks for putting all the weights in Farfallina, it is especially helpful with produce like eggplant that can vary in size.
We will definitely have it again.

[farfallina]

I am happy you enjoyed it Bedlam

I always try to include the exact weights in the recipe, even if they don't matter all the time.
Yes, the weights in a cookie or cake recipe are more crucial than those in vegetable recipes but there are so many varieties of vegetables and fruits.. many different sizes.

So I prefer not to leave space to any doubt 

[soniamatrona]

Hi to everyone, thank you for this recipe, I've made a small change, instead of using thyme and oregano and ginger, I used cumin, cinnamon and nutmeg, which are my favourite spices in the world, and the taste was soooo good.
Thanks again from Spain

Sonia

[cookie1]

I would imagine that would make the flavours quite different.

[farfallina]

I like those spices too Sonia.
Thank you for sharing your version with us

I often use cumin together with allspice to make köfte (Turkish meatballs)

[Wonder]

I'm planning on making this for dinner tomorrow night but as I'm the only one who will eat it will it freeze ok? I'm happy that the cheese and lentil components will be OK but not sure of the eggplant base. Anyone successfully freeze eggplant?