Ingredients

• 2 large aubergines
• 2 teaspoons sea salt , divided
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tin chickpeas, drained  
• 125g dried green lentils
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts
• 350ml vegetable stock , may need more depending on beans used
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• ¼  tsp pepper
• Olive oil or more veggie broth to sauté and coat aubergine
• 6 tablespoons oats.
• 150g fresh spinach or chopped greens
• 1 cup Vegan Parmesan Cheese 
  • 1 cup raw cashews , do not soak
  • 2 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons distilled white vinegar (see note)
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt , can use up to ¾ teaspoon
  • pinch ground mustard or half a tsp mustard
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Béchamel Sauce:

• ¾  cup raw cashews 
• 200g cooked sweet potato 
• ¾ cup vegetable stock  
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper (see note)

Instructions

Vegan Parmasan – make ahead

• Place dry cashews in a food processor and blend until they are a fine crumble.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until incorporated. Stop here if you prefer not to grate this but simply use it in crumbled form.
• If you are shaping it into a wheel to grate, then you can keep blending until smooth. It should come together into a ball, almost soft and dough like.
• Shape into a wheel and refrigerate overnight. You can use plastic wrap to store it in or shape with your hands and store in an airtight container.
• It will be ready to grate in the morning, but if you can’t wait keep checking for hardness every few hours!
• This also stores very well in the freezer if you know you won’t use it all within 7 days.

Moussaka

• Preheat oven to 180 in motorhome

Prep the aubergine:

• Slice the aubergine into 1cm thick pieces and spray with oil. 
• Put aubergine in the oven and broil. Keep checking and leave until golden brown – in the motorhome it was 15, turn and then 15.

Make béchamel:

• Make béchamel sauce by placing all ingredients into a blender and blending until nice and smooth.

Make “meat” sauce:

• Sauté onion and garlic with oil until brown. 
• Add chickpeas, lentils and walnuts, sauté 1-2 minutes.
• Add broth, chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. 
• Cook for 20 minutes until the liquid is almost gone and beans are al dente. Add more broth if needed.
• Add the chopped greens for the last couple of minutes until wilted.

Put the moussaka together:

• Brush bottom of a 9 x 12 dish with a drizzle of oil or broth.
• Put ¼ oats on the bottom to coat it and help prevent burning.
• Line the dish with half of the aubergine pieces.
• Sprinkle with ¼ of the parmesan.
• Top with the “meat” mixture.
• Sprinkle ¼ oats on top.
• Sprinkle with ¼ of the parmesan.
• Place half of the aubergine pieces on top.
• Sprinkle with ¼ of the parmesan.
• Spread the béchamel over it.
• Sprinkle the top with the last ¼ of the parmesan.
• Bake for 30 minutes until the top is brown. Make sure not to overbake or it will dry out. Allow it to cool so it can thicken and settle.