Linsen-Moussaka (lentil moussaka)
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Eggplant layer
- 700 g eggplant, sliced lengthwise, about 1 cm thick rounded
- 10 g fine salt, for salting the eggplant rounded
- 40 ml olive oil rounded
Lentil filling
- 250 g brown lentils rounded
- 500 ml vegetable broth rounded
- 150 g onion, finely chopped rounded
- 2 garlic cloves rounded
- 400 g chopped tomatoes rounded
- 5 g ground cinnamon rounded
- 10 g dried oregano rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
Béchamel topping
- 50 g butter rounded
- 50 g flour rounded
- 600 ml milk rounded
- 2 egg yolks rounded
- 60 g vegetarian hard cheese, finely grated rounded
- 2 g grated nutmeg rounded
Method
Method
- Salt the eggplant slices on both sides and let sit in a colander for 30 minutes. Pat firmly dry with paper towel.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (fan). Brush the eggplant slices with olive oil and roast on a sheet for 15 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Reduce the oven to 190°C.
- Combine the lentils and broth in a pot. Simmer for 20 minutes, until tender and most of the liquid absorbed.
- Meanwhile, sauté the onion and garlic in a splash of oil for 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cinnamon and oregano, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the cooked lentils. Season with salt.
- For the béchamel, melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk gradually, then simmer, whisking, for 5 minutes, until thickened. Remove from the heat, whisk in the egg yolks and half the cheese, and season with nutmeg.
- Layer half the eggplant in a baking dish. Top with the lentil filling, then the remaining eggplant. Pour the béchamel over evenly and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until deeply golden brown. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- Salt and press the eggplant dry before roasting it. Eggplant that goes into the dish still full of its own moisture waters down the lentil layer as it bakes, leaving the finished moussaka soggy instead of firmly sliceable.
- Build a proper béchamel, not a thin egg-and-yoghurt topping. A real béchamel, thickened with a roux before the eggs go in, gives a structured, genuinely golden crust; a thin topping bakes into something closer to a wet omelette.
- Let the moussaka rest for at least 15 minutes after baking. Cut into it straight from the oven and the layers slide apart; resting lets everything set into clean, stackable slices.
- It keeps and reheats well for 3 days, and many people find it even better the next day.
Ingredient substitutions
- Brown lentils can be swapped for green lentils; red lentils will turn to mush and aren’t suitable.
- Zucchini slices can join or replace some of the eggplant.
- A pinch of allspice alongside the cinnamon is a traditional Greek touch.