Click image for larger version

I will hold my hands up and say I am not a massive fan of veggie food. I love foods where the vegetables naturally sing like in some Italian or Indian dishes but meat free alternative dishes never seem to compete with their meaty counterparts. This veggie moussaka kicks arse though. It is so full of flavour and all sorts of textures that I think I may prefer it to the real thing. Either way it's a stonkingly good dish to feed a pack if you have a veggie guest coming over (in fact that was how it was invented in the first place). If you're feeling lazy you can use a jar of ready-made fresh cheese sauce from the chiller cabinet.

3 aubergines, sliced
1 x 400g can green lentils or 200g dried lentils cooking until tender in boiled water
2 tablespoons, olive oil
1 large courgette, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 yellow pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tsp cinnamon
2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoon tomato puree
a small bunch parsley, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

for the white sauce
30g butter
30g plain flour
500ml milk
1 ball mozzarella, chopped
a good grating of nutmeg
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 180°C. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a pan and cook the courgettes until golden. Remove form the pan with a slotted spoon then add another tablespoon olive oil to the pan along with the rest of the vegetables. Cook for 15 minutes until softened, super sweet and reduced in volume.

Add the tomato puree and cook for a further minute then add the cinnamon, tomatoes and tomato puree. Simmer for 10 minutes then stir in the lentils and cook for another 20 minutes. Stir in the parsley, then cool a little.

In the meantime, brush the aubergines with olive oil and season. Griddle or fry on both sides until cooked through and completely soft and tender. Layer up the lentil mix and aubergine slices in an 20x 30cm (or thereabouts) ovenproof lasagne dish.

To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a pan. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Take it off the heat and gradually whisk in the milk, bit by bit, stirring like crazy until combined and smooth. Add the mozzarella, nutmeg and season to taste. Spoon over the dishes to cover completely. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top is golden. Serve with a green salad.