Name: Vegan Greek Pastitsio
Prep time: 49 min
Cook time: 115 min
Total time: 165 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: greek
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 null onion (large, finely diced); 5 clove garlic cloves (finely diced); 250 g chestnut mushrooms (cleaned); 125 g shiitake mushrooms (fresh, cleaned); 0.75 tsp cinnamon; 0.25 tsp ground cloves; 0.5 tsp salt (adjust to taste); 0.25 tsp black pepper (ground, to taste); 0.5 cup red wine; 1 tin plum tomatoes; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 3 tsp tamari (or soy sauce); 1 tsp vegan worcestershire; 2 null bay leaves (fresh or dry); null sprig thyme (a few sprigs, leaves picked); null pinch chilli flakes ((optional)); 1 cup cooked lentils (Puy or other firm); 1 tsp sugar (or date nectar); 300 g macaroni pasta (GF if needed); 0.5 cup oat milk (or other plant milk); 1 tbsp tapioca starch; null null salt and pepper; 1 head roasted garlic cloves (optional); 2 tsp white miso paste; 3.25 cup oat milk (or other plant milk); 0.33 cup mild olive oil (or 100 g / 3½ oz vegan butter); 0.67 cup all purpose flour (or GF flour mix); 2 tbsp nutritional yeast; 1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)

Instructions

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1

Preheat the oven to 200° C / 390° F.
2

Cut the top of the roasted garlic cloves (1 head) off with a knife. Drizzle the exposed cloves with olive oil (2 tbsp) and wrap the garlic in a piece of kitchen foil so that the tops of the cloves are protected from getting burnt.
3

Place in a preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes, until the cloves are soft and caramelised. Store in the fridge for 1 week.
4

Heat up olive oil (2 tbsp) in a large, heavy-bottom pan. Once the olive oil (2 tbsp) starts shimmering, add onion (1 large) and sauté, on a low-medium heat, until translucent and only just caramelised (about 15 minutes). Skip to step 3 while waiting.
5

Add in the garlic (5 clove) and fry for a few more minutes until fragrant.
6

While the onion (1 large) are sautéing, dice your chestnut mushrooms (250 g) and shiitake mushrooms (125 g) quite finely. You can use a food processor but it's too easy to overprocess them so I prefer to chop them by hand, it also saves on washing up.
7

Once the onion-garlic mixture is ready, add diced chestnut mushrooms (250 g) and shiitake mushrooms (125 g) in three batches so that you don't overcrowd the pan. As soon as the first batch is cooked (turns dark brown), add the next.
8

Once all the chestnut mushrooms (250 g) and shiitake mushrooms (125 g) are cooked, season them with cinnamon (0.75 tsp), ground cloves (0.25 tsp), salt (0.5 tsp) and ground black pepper (0.25 tsp). Allow all the water to cook out.
9

Add in red wine (0.5 cup) and allow the alcohol taste to cook out before adding in plum tomatoes (1 tin), their juices, tomato paste (1 tbsp), a cup of water (rinse your tin with it), tamari (3 tsp), vegan worcestershire (1 tsp) (if using), leaves (2 bay) and [a few sprig thyme] and a [pinch chilli flakes] (if using). Break plum tomatoes (1 tin) up with a wooden spoon and give the mixture a good stir. Simmer for about 45 minutes, until plum tomatoes (1 tin) have fully broken down and sauce becomes homogenous. Give the sauce a good stir from time to time, add a splash more [water] if the pan is looking too dry.
10

Once the plum tomatoes (1 tin) break down fully, stir in cooked lentils (1 cup). If the ragu is too dry, add a little water as it will dry out more during baking.
11

Adjust the [to_taste salt and pepper] and add a touch of sugar (1 tsp) if desired. Set aside to cool.
12

Cook macaroni pasta (300 g) for half amount of the time stated on the packet. My macaroni pasta (300 g) packet said 11-13 minutes, I cooked it for 6 minutes. Drain, refresh under cold water.
13

Return the macaroni pasta (300 g) to the empty pot you cooked it in, stir in oat milk (0.5 cup), [to_taste salt and pepper] and tapioca starch (1 tbsp).
14

Measure out the oat milk (3.25 cup). Blend roasted garlic cloves (1 head) and white miso paste (2 tsp) with oat milk (0.5 cup) allocated for the béchamel sauce.
15

Slowly heat up mild olive oil (0.33 cup) in a large saucepan (stainless steal works best for this). Once the mild olive oil (0.33 cup) starts to shimmer, gradually whisk in all purpose flour (0.67 cup). Keep whisking until the mixture is super smooth. Allow the mixture to bubble gently, whisking the whole time, for a whole minute so that there is no raw all purpose flour (0.67 cup) taste in your béchamel, but make sure it doesn't colour.
16

Next, reduce the heat to low and start adding in oat milk (3.25 cup) while whisking the whole time. Initially the mixture may thicken really quickly and look a bit lumpy - don't worry, it will recover once all the oat milk (3.25 cup) has been whisked in. Once the mixture looks stable whisk in nutritional yeast (2 tbsp) and allow it to melt into the sauce, then continue adding in the rest of your oat milk (3.25 cup), including the batch you've whizzed up with roasted garlic cloves (1 head) and white miso paste (2 tsp). Simmer only just enough for the sauce to thicken, then season with salt (1 tsp), black pepper (0.25 tsp) and nutmeg (0.33) to taste.
17

Preheat the oven to 180° C / 390° F (or 160° C / 320° F on a fan setting).
18

Arrange a layer of seasoned macaroni pasta (300 g) at the bottom of the baking dish (see notes).
19

Spread ragu on top of the macaroni pasta (300 g), followed by the béchamel.
20

Bake for about 50 minutes, rotating the dish halfway through cooking to ensure it bakes evenly. Increase the oven temperature by 10° C / 20° F for the last 10 minutes of baking time to speed up browning.
21

Allow the dish to set for at least an hour or else the slices will come out messy, although I do recommend waiting to consume until the following day - the flavours will mellow and the dish will taste even better. Store the leftovers for up to 5 days in the fridge or freeze in air-tight containers.