Vegan MoFo Day 1: Vegan Mousakka ka ka

GOD I freaking LOVE Mousakka! The fact that it CAN be quite a time consuming meal to prepare is a bit of a shit for putting people off making it but I am living, blogging proof that it CAN be done in an hour plus baking time - so and hour and a half altogether! WooHoo! Of course I sneakily had some Tomato Sauce stashed away in my freezer for such an occasion as this, which cuts down the cooking time and preperation quite considerably. The Aubergine and Courgettes I usually bake in the oven but this time I fried them in a big pan with very little oil. Saves LOADS of time. The White Sauce is a variation of the Cashew Ricotta from Vcon which I have tweaked by adding Soya Milk. This makes it easier to use in this way, as a kind of Bechemel Sauce, but doesn't lessen the taste in any way what-so-ever. The overall verdict is...YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS RECIPE!!! Your tastebuds will love you for it! Vegan Mousakka serves 4 Ingredients For the White Sauce: 1/4 Cup Cashews 10 oz Firm Tofu 1 Cup Soya Milk 4 Basil Leaves 1/4 Cup Olive Oil Juice from Half a Lemon 1 Clove of Garlic For the Tomato Sauce: Half a Recipe Serving of Tomato Sauce Handful Mushrooms, sliced Half a Medium Onion, sliced 2 tbsp Olive Oil 1 Aubergine (Eggplant) 2 Courgettes (Zucchini) 4 Slices Nutty Wholemeal Bread Method Wash and thinly slice the Aubergine and Courgette. Rub Salt on each side of the slices of Aubergine and leave in a colander for half an hour. When ready rinse well with water and gently pat dry with a kitchen towel. Fry the slices of Aubergine and Courgette in a little drizzle of oil in a big frying (skillet) pan. You will need to do this in batches. Depending on how big your pan is it will be about 4 or 5 batches. Fry on each side until a nice golden colour is obtained and set aside to cool. In a saucepan pan add 1 tsp Olive Oil and fry the sliced Mushrooms and Onion for 10 mins stirring regularly. Add the Tomato Sauce and cook on a gentle heat for 20 mins. In an oblong baking dish place a layer of Aubergine, then a layer of sauce, then a layer of Courgette. Cover this in another layer of sauce then finish off with the remaining Veg (which will vary depending on how thin you sliced your Aubergines and Courgettes - but it really doesn't matter). Now to make the White Sauce. Place the Cashews, Garlic, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice in a blender and whizz for a few mins. Then crumble in the Tofu and add this the blender with the Basil and Soya Milk. Whizz until smooth. This does make a thick sauce so be careful not to add too much milk - you want a spreading consistency NOT runny like a typical White Sauce. Scoop out and spread over the Mousakka, a knife is handy to help with the spreadage. Whiz up the bread to make breadcrumbs and sprinkle on top of everything. You might like to drizzle the breadcrumbs with some Olive Oil - I know I do. Cook in an oven set to 200 degrees for 10 mins then cover the top with some aluminium foil. Cook for another 25 mins. Enjoy!!