Quinoa Moussaka with Garlic Cashew Bechamel

Source: http://networkedblogs.com/M2BNt

cashew bechamel sauce

1/2 cup raw cashews3 cups almond milk, divided4 tablespoons butter (Earth Balance soy free)
4 tablespoons gluten free all purpose flour
2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon sea salt 

In high speed blender or food processor, process cashews until crumbly. Add 1 cup milk while processing, until a smooth cashew cream forms – this will be much thinner than traditional cashew cream.

In saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour, stirring until smooth. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to darken in color – a light tan. Continue to stir while adding cashew milk. Mixture will thicken. Whisk in remaining two cups milk, and the salt and nutmeg, remove from heat. 

Mix pre-cooked quinoa with marinara or other tomato-based sauce of your liking.

Moussaka assembly:

…and baked to a golden brown:

I used my cashew bechamel sauce as the topping in this recipe, (cutting it in half and adding a garlic clove when processing the cashews) and slow cooker basil marinara in the quinoa mixture, and instead of a casserole dish I made individual servings in large ramekins.

An easy recipe that comes together quickly, I will be making this again soon. As Jason is not an eggplant fan, making this recipe as individual ramekin servings is an easy way to customize his portion, leaving the eggplant out. Still a lovely bowl of comfort.