Vegan Moussaka with a Pistachio Béchamel

1. Place the dried soy mince in a bowl, pour over 250ml of hot water, and leave to soak for 10 minutes. Drain, and press out the remaining water. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and sweat the onion cubes in it for around 3 minutes. Add the garlic, and continue to sweat everything for a further minute. Add the tomato purée and soy mince, and fry for a few minutes. Pour in the vegetable stock. Add the tomatoes and seasoning to the saucepan, and let everything simmer over a low heat. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes, let them cool off, and cut into 1cm-thick slices. Cut the eggplants into slices of equal thickness, too, sprinkle with salt and leave to infuse for around 10 minutes. Then fry the eggplant slices in olive oil on both sides.

2. For the pistachio béchamel, blitz the soaked pistachios with the rest of the béchamel ingredients until creamy. Add the seasoning, taste, and add more if necessary. Set aside.

3. Preheat your oven to 190°C fan (375°F fan). Brush a baking dish with a little olive oil, and lay out the potato slices in it. Next, layer the eggplant slices on top, and spread the tomato sauce on top of that. Pour the pistachio béchamel over everything, and sprinkle with the vegan alternative to Parmesan/grated cheese. Bake the moussaka for around 40 minutes in the preheated oven. Garnish with fresh parsley, and serve. Tastes (almost!) as good as at your local Greek restaurant, but it’s 100% plant-based!