The word musakka almost always refers to eggplant musakka, at least where I came from. It was surprising to see a cauliflower musakka in this Turkish cookbook we found on Amazon (Sultan’s Kitchen). We already had most of the ingredients at home, it would be mistake not to try this dish!

Ingredients

• 1 large cauliflower
• 8 MorningStar Sausage Patties
• 1 T tomato paste

Cooking Oil:

• 2 T unsalted butter
• 2 T olive oil

Onion & Garlic:

• 1 onion, diced (¾ cup)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced

Rest of the Ingredients:

• 2 green bell peppers,seeded, thinly sliced
• 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
• ½ t ground red pepper (we use ½ t Aleppo pepper mixed with a pinch of cayenne)
• 2 T dill, finely chopped
• ¼ c Italian parsley, finely chopped
• 1 c stock (hot water mixed with 3 Knorr vegetable bouillon cube)
• 1 t salt
• 1 t pepper

Instructions

Cut cauliflower into florets. Blanch the florets in a hot boiling water for 4 minutes. Immediately drain, and put in ice cold water. Drain, and set aside.

Toast the sausage patties in toaster oven 15 minutes at 450°F. Turn them into ground beef by pulsing in a food processor.

In a big pan (or a sauce pan) melt and mix the Cooking Oil over medium heat. Add Onion & Garlic, cook until soft without browning for about 2 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste. Add the cauliflower florets, stir for few seconds, then add the Rest of the ingredients.

Bring the mixture to boil, reduce heat to simmer for 45 minutes covered.

There should be just enough water to be used as sauce in the pot. Add the meat the last.

Sprinkle with lemon juice when serving.