Meatless Moussaka

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 eggplants (about 1 1/4 lbs. each)
• salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumb

Recipe

• 1 ligthly grease a 1 1/2 cup straight-sided casserole or charlotte mold; set aside.
• 2 cut stems from eggplants and quarter each lengthwise.
• 3 with a sharp knife cut pulp from skin leaving a 1/4 inch thick shell intact.
• 4 chop pulp, place in colander; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss. let drain for about 30 minutes.
• 5 fill a dutch oven about half full of water and heat to boiling.
• 6 drop in skins, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes; drain.
• 7 when cool enough to handle, use a spoon to gently scrape remaining pulp from skins; discard, set skins aside.
• 8 in a large skillet heat oil.
• 9 add mushrooms and onions; saute 5 minutes.
• 10 stir in tomatoes and cinnamon; reduce heat to low.
• 11 squeeze eggplant pulp to remove moisture and add to skillet.
• 12 cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
• 13 in a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.
• 14 stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
• 15 pour in milk and stir constantly until mixture thickens; add nutmeg.
• 16 stir sauce, eggs, cheese, bread crumbs and 1/4 teaspoon salt into skillet with eggplant mixture until completely combined.
• 17 remove from heat; set aside.
• 18 preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• 19 line casserole with skins, arranging vertically (skin sides against the mold) along bottom and up sides; overlap edges slightly.
• 20 spoon eggplant mixture into center;fold any overhanging skins on top of filling.
• 21 put casserole in baking pan on oven rack. fill baking pan with hot water.
• 22 bake 1 1/2 hours.
• 23 remove casserole from oven; let stand 10 minutes; spoon off any drippings.
• 24 *can be made ahead to this point. cover and refrigerate up to 48 hours. to reheat, put 1 inch of water in a dutch oven; heat to boiling.uncover mold and set into water.heat until water simmers. cover pan; reduce heat and cook until eggplant is heated through, about 45 minutes.).
• 25 invert onto serving dish; cut into wedges to serve.