March is knocking on the door and a few sunny days are able to make me bloom like a tulip inside and rejoice as if the sun has been hiding away from me for years. Although even in winter there are plenty of sunny days in Austria, somehow it’s not quite the same. Now nature, animals and birds around us slowly come to life and they show their beautiful colors, which seem to be even brighter under the sun rays… so I really feel the sunny days in a different way at this time. The whole world is telling us that summer is coming and it’s time for us to bloom too, to come out from under the winter blanket and look around! Looking out over the balcony, closing my eyes, feeling the warmth on my face… I love these moments! And I really, really, really love spring and summer. I realize now how much I have missed them. I have planted a couple of flowers. Next week we will plant onions, garlic, lettuce and sage. The other green herbs survived the winter very well in our little greenhouse. I decided to celebrate these emotions with some memories from Greece and Bulgaria, so I prepared a veggie moussaka and served it with a fresh salad, some antipasti and a delicious Greek cheese I found by chance last week.
Of course, I will now share with you a little bit of sunshine and this delicious recipe. You can certainly make it with minced meat. No matter what you use, I guarantee that you will smile happily and fully enjoy one of the favorite dishes in Bulgaria, namely Moussaka! This veggie moussaka is an interesting variation of the traditional recipe, with a slight reference to Greece. I love and appreciate Greek cuisine a lot, but when it comes to moussaka I can’t lie… the Bulgarian moussaka is simply the best in the whole world 😉
Veggie Moussaka with zucchini, carrots and bell peppers
Ingredients
- 450 g Potatoes
- 250 g Vegetarian minced meat
- 2 Onions or one larger
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Red pepper
- 2 Zucchini
- 6 tbsp. Tomato sauce
- 1-2 tbsp. Paprika powder
- Salt, pepper, savory to taste
- 300-350 g Yoghurt
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 tsp. Baking soda
- 1 tsp. Flour
- 50 g Cheese, shredded
- Salt to taste
For the topping:
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C degrees.
- Wash the zucchini and cut them into round pieces.
- Mix them in a bowl with salt, pepper, a little oregano and 2-3 tbsp olive oil. Then arrange them on a baking sheet and place in the oven on a medium rack.
- Bake the zucchini until they are lightly browned.
- Wash and peel the potatoes. Cut them into small cubes.
- Brush the potatoes with a little oil, salt them lightly and add them to an oven dish in which you will later make the moussaka.
- Once the zucchini are cooked, remove them from the oven and put the potatoes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients, but not longer than 20 minutes.
- Chop the onion, carrot and red pepper.
- Preheat a pan and fry the onions in 2-3 tbsp olive oil until they are translucent. Then add the carrot and bell pepper and sauté until soft.
- Add the veggie mince and fry for a few munites as well.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, paprika powder and season to taste. Mix well and fry for another 2 minutes.
- Pour in about 200 ml vegetable stock or water and simmer until thickened (about 15 minutes).
- Remove the potatoes from the oven, add them to the pan and stir in.
- Add a little more vegetable stock or water to fill the empty spaces between the ingredients (see photo below).
- Once the sauce starts boiling, pour everything from the pan into the oven dish.
- Arrange a row of zucchini rounds on top, very lightly basting them with sauce so they don’t burn on top.
- Bake on the middle oven rack for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened.
- In the meantime, prepare the topping by whisking the yogurt with the eggs, then adding the flour and half a tsp of baking soda. Finally, whisk in the grated cheese. Season with salt to taste.
- Remove the moussaka from the oven after the 20 minutes have elapsed (or after the potatoes have softened) and pour over the topping.
- Bake for another 10 minutes or until the topping gets a nice golden color.
- Remove from the oven and let the moussaka cool before serving.
Needed ingredients for the moussaka 
Cut the zucchini into round pieces, brush with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven until golden. 
Sauté the chopped vegetables, then add the minced veggie meat. 
After the sauce with minced meat and tomatoes has been cooking for about 15 minutes, add the potatoes that you baked briefly in the oven. 
Move the mixture from the pan to an oven dish. Bake at 190°C for about 20 minutes and then add the topping. 
Enjoy the veggie moussaka and optionally serve with a fresh salad and antipasti.
If you liked the recipe for my veggie moussaka, you might also like this recipe for a Sloppy Joe burger.
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