Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Mmm for Moussaka

I have been making a very special layered eggplant dish for years from Alison Holst's Meals without Meat.  I have plans to veganize it.  But for now, whenever I have a yearning for a layered eggplant extravaganza I have a go-to recipe that I found in Veganomicon.  I just love saying the name of that book.  Veganomicon.  Nom, nom, nom!



Happily, here is the recipe on the Post Punk Kitchen Website: Eggplant Potato Moussaka with Pine Nut Cream.   So you too can bake this wonderful dish.  Thanks PPK for being so generous with your recipes on line.

This is not one of those throw together for a quick dinner kind of recipe.  It is a little fiddly.  But it is well worth the effort.  And, if there is just two of you in the house, like me and dear husband, then you will have instant dinner for the next night or two.  It reheated pretty well in the microwave.

The Pine Nut Cream really is fantastic!! Although I will be very, very careful with the salt next time.  The recipe calls for "1 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste."  I thought I would start a bit lower and so added ~ 3/4 teaspoon and it was still a bit too salty for us.  But once that salt has hit the food processor there is no undoing it.  So I suggest starting with even less, I think 1/4-1/2 teaspoon will probably do the trick for me next time.  Is that American taste buds like salt more than we Aussies do?  I often find I have to reduce the salt a bit when cooking from an American cook book. If anyone else has made this (or ever gets around to making it) I would like to hear how much salt you added "to taste".


Apparently the extra pine nuts for garnishing are "optional", but personally, I strongly recommend a generous handful of pine nuts on top.  They toast to perfection while the dish bakes. 


Will I make this again?  Definitely!

5 comments:

Brett said...

I haven't tried this recipe, but I find that many cookbooks (from America and elsewhere), Veganomicon included, use much more salt than I like. I usually begin with a quarter or less of what is recommended and adjust to taste from there.

Brett said...

PS: were the photos taken with your "nifty fifty"?

Mandy said...

Brett - starting with quarter or less of the salt is good advice that I will definitely be following in future.

And yes :)
Photos taken with my "nifty fifty", which I am loving.

I made a rhubarb and apple crumble recently and spent more time photographing the fruit (especially the apple peel) than it took me to make the full dessert. The photography bug has definitely bitten!

Sarah said...

I think American taste buds are accustomed both to more salt and sugar than ours. So many savory dishes have either sugar, maple syrup or agave, and I generally just miss it out. And I definitely reduce the salt.

Mandy said...

I think you are right Sarah. It will be interesting to hear if the same applies to Canadians while you are there.