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24.10.2021

Gnocchi moussaka casserole

Gnocchi moussaka

Gnocchi “moussaka”

My shortcut hack to a quick moussaka style casserole, is to swap the potatoes with store bought potato gnocchi! Layered together with eggplant, tomato sauce and a hefty amount of cheese sauce, this gnocchi “moussaka” casserole is comfort food at its best. It’s a warming and hearty vegetarian dish as is, but also super easy to make vegan!

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Gnocchi casserole

Gnocchi bake

moussaka style Gnocchi casserole

I came up with this moussaka style gnocchi casserole prepared in the style of moussaka during spring of 2020. This was a time when I was learning the ropes of distance teaching on the go, while trying to come up with some food at the table both for lunch and dinner. Yeah we ordered in a lot… I had zero time or energy for cooking, but a massive craving for comfort food!

Store bought potato gnocchi were in heavy rotation in my kitchen around that busy, busy time… They cook up in mere minutes and are delicious with the simplest of sauces. I love traditional Greek moussaka, but it clearly is a labor of love and time when prepared well. In my need of a quick fix I ended up substituting potatoes with gnocchi! Although the dish is still not the fastest to prepare, making a huge batch on a Sunday meant lots of comfort to the next week. And it still does! What I created is definitely not a traditional moussaka, though there are lots of variations of this classic Mediterranean dish. But it definitely fits the box of comfort food!

potato gnocchi casserole

Gnocchi moussaka

The tomato sauce gets lots of warming depth from garlic, herbs and cinnamon. I also love to add a lot of freshly grated nutmeg to the Mornay sauce! This gnocchi moussaka casserole is definitely food for the cold weather. The pillowy soft gnocchis will fill and warm you up like a dream! Since the night time temperatures have now dropped below zero here in Finland, I think it’s perfect time to finally share this dish with you all.

Gnocchi moussaka casserole

Gnocchi casserole in the style of moussaka - comfort food for the cold time of year! This is easy to make vegan too.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Fusion
Diet Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings 4 people
Author Juulia
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 40 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
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Ingredients
 

  • 500 g fresh gnocchi (store bought)
  • 250 g plant based mince
  • 1 medium sized eggplant
  • olive oil (as needed)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tbsp tomato pure
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1-2 tsp sugar
  • salt (to taste)
  • 500 g crushed tomatos (from a can)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil (or melted butter)
  • ½ dl wheat flour
  • 3 dl (oat) milk
  • 2 dl (oat) cream
  • ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 150-200 g grated cheese (emmental, mozzarella...) (or vegan cheese)
  • salt + freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)
Notes:
Feel free to add more veggies to the tomato sauce - I chop in carrots, celeriac and such sometimes!
You can also layer in thin slices of pumpkin, zucchini, what have you to bulk up the veggie content.

Instructions

Prep:

  • Slice the eggplant to about ½ cm thickness. Brown the slices in olive oil in batches and stack up for later. Add some more oil in the pan and brown the plant based mince, take it out of the pan for later too! Start heating up the oven to 175°C.

Making the sauces:

  • Tomato sauce: Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Heat a table spoon of oil in a pan and cook the onions until translucent. Add in the tomato puré and dried oregano, thyme, ground cinnamon and sugar. Cook on medium heat for a while so that the tomato puré cooks a bit.
  • Add in the crushed tomatoes and bring the sauce to a boil. Let the sauce simmer on low heat for fiveish minutes and season to taste with salt.
  • Mornay sauce: Add 3 tbsp of oil or butter to a pot and whisk in the flour. Cook on medium heat while stirring until the mixture is bubbling. Add in the (oat) milk, one deciliter at a time, whisking to prevent lumps. Add in the (oat) cream and keep cooking until the sauce is thick and the flour is fully cooked. Fold in (vegan) cheese and season with salt, freshly cracked black pepper and grated nutmeg.

Assembly:

  • Coat the bottom of a large and deep oven proof casserole. Throw in the store bought gnocchi and top it off with the browned plant based mince.
  • Ladle in half of the tomato sauce, then layer on top the cooked eggplant. Continue by adding the rest of the tomato sauce and then the cheese sauce.
  • Grate some more cheese on top if you wish, or just add some cinnamon and/or fresly grated nutmeg!
  • Cook the casserole on medium rack in the oven for about 30-40 minutes, or until bubbling and golden on top. I usually finish the browning by turning on the grill settings for a few mintues at the end of the cooking time!

Gnocchi moussaka

gnocchi moussaka

Aiheeseen liittyy

Filed Under: Recipes, vegetarian and vegan Tagged With: vegan recipe, vegetarian recipes

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Jella Juulia

Hi! My name is Jella and I’m a Finnish food blogger, content creator and food photographer from Helsinki. Click here to read more about me!

Recent Posts

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Long time no kimchi & gnocchi bake! Who's up for Long time no kimchi & gnocchi bake!

Who's up for some kimchi, gnocchi, 🌱-chorizo, kale and butternut squash nestled in garlicky gochujang oat cream sauce, tucked underneath a golden blanket of cheese?

Actually nevermind. I can eat it all by myself 🤭 

Tein pitkästä aikaa kimchi & gnocchivuokaa. Ah se on NIIN HYVÄÄ! Ja syntyy lähinnä pusseja ja purkkeja avaamalla. Ohje löytyy blogiarkistoista, linkkaan sen myös stooriin!

Recipe in blog archives, I'm linking it to my story.

#kimchi #gnocchivuoka #gnocchibake #kimchignocchivuoka #vaimomatskuufoodblog #eatcaptureshare #hautescuisines #foodartblog #foodartproject #reseptiblogissa #kasvisruoka #ruokablogi #storyofmytable #darktablemood #moodyfood #vegetarianrecipes #eeeeats #plantbasedeating #foodiefeature #buzzfeastfood #myfoodstories #seasonaleating
Sunday still life 🤎 (I'm thinking onion soup. Sunday still life 🤎

(I'm thinking onion soup. What about you?)

#hautescuisines #foodartproject #foodartblog #darktablemood #moodofmytable #moodyfood #rusticgamestrong #mystoryoflight #stilllifefood #stilllifegallery #still_life_mood #naturemorte #ruokakuvaus #asetelma #foodstyling #foodphotographyandstyling #ofsimplethings #petalsandprops #blooooms #inspiredbypetals 
#likeapainting
Mulled hibiscus tea ❤️ Glögikausi auki! Onks Mulled hibiscus tea ❤️ Glögikausi auki! Onks sulla? 

Hurahdin tällä viikolla hibiskusglögiin, jonka haudutan hibiskuksesta ja kaapin mausteaarteista. Ohje blogissa nyt!
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#glögi #glögg #hibiskus #hibiskustee #hibiscustea #joulukuu #joulutuleeoletkovalmis #glögikausiavattu
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Crispy tofu, butternut squash & chickpea traybake: Crispy tofu, butternut squash & chickpea traybake:

• small butternut squash
• can of chickpeas
• garlic, salt, pepper, dried thyme,  EVOO
• a block of shredded (smoked) firm tofu
• ~ 1,5 dl vegan parmesan (I use a nutbased one)
• chili, cilantro, spring onion - whatever you have around

Slice the pumpkin to ~1 cm thickness, remove the seeds. Drain the chickpeas. Add both on an oiled tray, season to taste with garlic, salt, pepper, herb of your choice + plenty of extra virgin olive oil. 

Pat off as much moisture from the shredded tofu as you can - I use a kitchen towel. Getting it as dry as possible will help make the tofu super crispy! Layer both the tofu and the vegan parmesan on top of the pumpkin and drizzle on top a little more oil.

Bake in a 200°c convection oven until the pumpkin is soft and the tofu is crispy ~ 30minutes. Garnish with fresh chili, herbs, spring onion and serve with salad.

••••

Feel free to adjust, add, remove ingredients - this is really all about the crunchy tofu on top! To make it extra crispy you can freeze / press the tofu to help remove even more moisture.

••••

Kurpitsapelti rapealla tofumurulla myös blogissa ✨

#myskikurpitsa #kurpitsa #tofu #kasvisruoka #vegaaniruokaa #ruoka #ruokareels #resepti #foodblogfeed #arkiruoka #sesonkiruoka #veganrecipes #tofurecipe #plantbasedrecipes #seasonaleating #pumpkinseason #recipereels #myseasonaltable #flatlayfood #myopenkitchen #mycommontable #buzzfeastfood #eeeeats
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