Musaca is a dish that every Romanian knows about. The traditional dish is made with meat, but I took that out and made a vegan version. In UK, you might have seen variations of this dish in Eastern European and Greek restaurants, like Moussaka. The recipes are quite similar, with potatoes and aubergines being used, but the Greek ones have either bechamel sauce (milk, flour, butter) or a sort of a custard with egg. I don’t like the egg top at all, maybe because I’m used to the Romanian version, without eggs or bechamel.

As I mentioned, the traditional dish is made with meat. This time I’ve removed that layer all together, I didn’t add any fake meats in mine. It’s made only with vegetables, hence is vegan.
As for the condiments, I’ve used Mediterranean spices, but you can easily make your own mix with dried herbs like parsley, basil, and a bit of thyme.

Ingredients for 4 servings of Musaca:

– 1 medium aubergine
– 2 medium potatoes
– 1 and a half cans of chopped tomatoes
– 1 beef tomato (or 2 medium tomatoes)
– 3 tsp Mediterranean spices
– salt
– pepper
– 2-3 spoons of oil

Preheat the oven at 180C or 160C for fan ovens.

While the oven is getting hot, prepare the Musaca. Wash the vegetables and cut them in thin slices. Mix the spices into the chopped tomatoes. Coat a baking tray with the oil. It is easy to pour the oil and tilt the baking tray to coat it. Put the potatoes on the bottom of the tray. Spoon in lots of chopped tomatoes. Arrange the aubergine slices on top and pour in the remaining chopped tomatoes. Carefully arrange the tomato slices on top.

Place the baking tray in the oven and leave to bake for about 45 minutes. Check to see if the vegetables are cooked. If not, leave for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Have you ever tried Musaca before?