MOUSSAKA

 

I believe that every tourist who visits Greece gets the chance to taste a dish of moussaka. It's a popular Greek summer fare made with layers of eggplant and ground meat which are topped with a fabulous bechamel sauce. 

To the best of my knowledge, in the old days, moussaka was exclusively layered with eggplants and ground beef, and then it was topped with bechamel. Sometime in the mid-twentieth century, chefs started adding potatoes to the layers of moussaka. A bit later, the addition of zucchini started comprising yet another layer. To be honest, I have yet not tried the zucchini addition but it's unavoidable that I will do so sometime in the future, and who knows, I may start adding it to my recipe. 

There are two methods of preparing eggplants for moussaka: One, is the old-fashioned method of frying them. I definitely say no to that. Two, is the wiser method of baking them in the oven: healthier, less messy, and even the flavour is better because the end product doesn't consist of oily eggplant. I don't care much for fried foods. Does it show? Needless to say, there are variations to cooking moussaka. Here, I include my favourite version.

Moussaka can be prepared in advance and served lukewarm or at room temperature, making it ideal to serve for buffets. 

Ingredients:

3 or 4 medium eggplants

4 medium Yukon gold potatoes

extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 pounds lean ground beef, use a variety of 90% to 10% 

2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 bay leaves

a sprig of thyme

a sprig of rosemary

1/2 cup white wine
1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes plus the juice included in the can.

1 cup of chopped parsley, divided

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

For the bechamel:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-quart whole milk, heated
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup ricotta cheese

Directions:

• Wash the eggplant and cut off both ends. With a vegetable peeler remove 1/2-inch strips of skin from the eggplant. The end result will be that your eggplant will have a striped appearance, showing stripes of purple skin and white flesh.
• Slice the eggplants into 3/4-inch rounds. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
• Bake the eggplants: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with some olive oil and place them on parchment-covered baking sheets. Season lightly with salt and bake until the eggplants are soft. Keep an eye on the eggplant while it's baking. You don't want to overcook it. Baking time depends on the variety of eggplant used. Right away, place the cooked eggplants into a covered container and reserve. The cover will trap any steam they release and make them much softer and better tasting.
• Peel and slice the potatoes. Slice them into 3/4-inch rounds. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flavour them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and just a touch of oregano. Bake until the potatoes are soft and just beginning to brown. Reserve. 
• Heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven and add the ground beef. Stir occasionally, breaking the ground beef into small pieces. Cook until the ground beef is browned.  
• Add the chopped onions. You may need to add a little more olive oil along with the onions. Cook until the onions are soft.
• Add the garlic along with the bay leaves, thyme, rosemary and tomato paste. Cook for one minute and a half as you keep stirring. 
• Add the wine and deglaze the pot. Keep stirring gently. Let the alcohol in the wine cook off and the wine itself become incorporated into the ground beef. 
• Combine the tomatoes with the parsley. 
• Add the tomato mixture to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and simmer over low heat, stirring often, until all the liquid has evaporated, about 45 minutes to an hour. Alternatively, you can place the pot into the oven and cook at 300 F for about 45 minutes to an hour, until the liquid has evaporated. 
• Remove from the oven and add the tablespoon of oregano. Taste and correct the seasonings if needed. Cook on the stovetop for an additional five minutes.
• While the ground beef is cooking, make the bechamel: In a saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter, add the flour and whisk for about two minutes. Turn up the heat to moderate and add the warm milk in a slow stream, whisking all the while.
• Keep stirring as the sauce simmers. Within about five minutes the mixture should be thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from the heat.  
• Let cool slightly and stir in the two beaten eggs and the ricotta cheese.  

Begin layering:

• Grease an 11 by 16-inch pan and sprinkle the bottom with breadcrumbs. Arrange all the potatoes over the bread crumbs and top with half the eggplants. Sprinkle with grated Pecorino Romano cheese, breadcrumbs, and parsley. 
• Add half the meat sauce on top of the eggplant layer. Sprinkle with grated Pecorino Romano cheese, breadcrumbs, and parsley. 
• Add the rest of the eggplants. Sprinkle with grated Pecorino Romano cheese, breadcrumbs, and parsley. 
• Add the rest of the meat sauce and sprinkle the top with, well, I guess you've guessed it: grated Pecorino Romano cheese, breadcrumbs, and parsley. 
• Pour the bechamel over the top, sprinkle the top of the bechamel with Pecorino Romano cheese and bake in a preheated 350°F/180°C oven for about 30 minutes to 45 minutes, until the top is golden.
• Let cool for half an hour before slicing. The moussaka will taste even better the following day.

PIEROGI with various fillings: POTATO & CHEESE, CABBAGE & MUSHROOM, FETA CHEESE & SPINACH

I'm making pierogi!!! I love them, as I love any type of dumpling! It's just that I never thought I would be making them. From scratch. Buying them ready to eat has been what I've been used to. But why not try my hand at making them myself? The first step to making pierogi is to find that place in one's house called "the kitchen ..." 

I chose a pierogi dough from Martha Stewart. This dough is a thing of beauty: silky, easy to handle and delicious!  Thank you, Martha. Here's how to make it:


Pierogi Dough Ingredients:

1 large egg, lightly whisked
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup water
4 and 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour, some of it to be used for bench surface and for dusting 

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg. Add the sour cream, and whisk until smooth. Add the milk and 1 cup water, and whisk until combined.
2. Slowly add about 3 cups flour, and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
3. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and work in about 1 cup flour as you knead. Use a plastic scraper to lift the dough as it will stick to the counter before any flour is worked in. Continue kneading for 8 to 10 minutes, working in another 1/2 cup flour. The dough should be elastic in texture and no longer sticky. Be careful not to add too much flour, as this will toughen the dough.
4. Place dough in a lightly floured bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest while preparing a filling.

Roll out the Dough:

On a floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Make sure you are just rolling the dough and not rolling and pressing.

Using a glass or a cookie cutter measuring 2 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out as many circles as possible. Cut the circles close together, trying to save as much space as possible. Gather the dough scraps together, roll them out again, and continue cutting.

Fill the Pierogi:

1. Lay a dry, clean towel on your work surface; set aside.
2. Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling in the centre of each dough circle.
3. Holding a circle in your hand, fold dough over the filling, and pinch the edges, forming a well-sealed crescent; transfer to the towel. Continue this process until all dough circles are filled.

Cook the Pierogi:

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to the boil. Drop the pierogi in the boiling water in batches. They will sink to the bottom of the pot and then rise to the top. Once they rise, let them cook for about a minute more.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cook one stick of butter over medium-high heat until nut-brown in colour, about 6 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and drizzle the butter onto a serving platter, leaving any burned sediment behind. Remove the pierogi from the pot, and transfer to the buttered platter. By placing the pierogi on a pre-buttered platter you will prevent them from sticking. Serve immediately. You may drizzle some more butter on top.
3. Note: Some pierogi are fried, some are sauteed in butter, some get butter drizzled over them. I don't really like fried foods, nor do I like to smother foods in butter. Drizzling a bit of butter on top is okay, but I served some pierogi coated with olive oil and they were excellent!

I chose to make three types of filling: 

POTATO AND CHEESE FILLING:

• 3 large potatoes, cooked and mashed
• 3/4 cup cheese, a mixture of cream cheese and cheddar
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients until well incorporated. Stuff the pierogi when the filling has cooled. 

CABBAGE, CARROT, AND MUSHROOM FILLING:

• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 shallot, chopped and sautéed in one tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook the cabbage and carrot in boiling water until nice and soft. Drain very well and reserve. Sauté the shallot, garlic, ginger and mushrooms in the vegetable oil until they are soft. Add the cabbage mixture and season with salt and pepper. Let cool before filling the pierogi.

Pierogi with Feta cheese and Spinach Filling:

Being of Greek heritage, I love the combination of feta cheese and spinach.  This recipe combines feta, spinach and pierogi dough to make a hybrid Greek-Polish dumpling. One of the best things about it is that it contains no butter! The pierogi are topped with just a bit of olive oil and Parmesan cheese before they are served. Here is the recipe for this filling:

Ingredients:

• 1 box of chopped frozen spinach
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon mint, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dill, chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• some olive oil and Parmesan cheese for topping
• salt and pepper to taste

Thaw and chop the spinach into small pieces. Even though it's already chopped you will need to chop it into smaller pieces. Cook it in a bit of boiling salted water until it is soft. Drain it very well. In a medium skillet heat the vegetable oil and add the shallots. Sauté until the shallots are soft. Add the parsley, spinach and mint, and mix well. Cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cheeses and egg. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Let cool before using as stuffing. When the pierogi are cooked, serve topped with some olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

RACK of LAMB with PARSLEY-ROSEMARY PESTO

This recipe is a no-mess, quick, easy and very delicious way to prepare a rack of lamb. I found the recipe on the Epicurious website, changed a few things around, and now I have a new and tasty way to serve lamb. To make the pesto I used parsley and rosemary from my garden. The ingredients were fresh and bright green and smelled and tasted wonderful. After removing and discarding a decent amount of fat from it, I coated the rack of lamb with the pesto and then I baked it for about 25 minutes. The meat came out of the oven moist, tender and juicy. I heartily recommend this dish!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup parsley leaves. Pack the parsley in the measuring cup so that you get a generous amount.

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus some rosemary sprigs for decoration

2  1/2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 rack of lamb

Marinade for the lamb: Score the lamb and season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Sprinkle some olive oil and the juice of half a lemon over the lamb.

Directions:

1. Marinate the lamb in the refrigerator for about an hour. Take it out and let the meat come to room temperature.
2. Position the cooking rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 450°F.
3. Place parsley, chopped rosemary, grated Parmesan cheese and garlic in the food processor. Process to a coarse paste. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil. Season the pesto with salt and pepper.
4. Place the lamb on a small rimmed baking pan.
5. To make cleaning up easier, I like to line my pan with aluminium foil or parchment paper. After cooking, I remove it and throw it out. The foil or the paper will hold the cooking grease, and the pan will remain virtually spotless.
6. Spread all of the pesto over the rounded side of the lamb.
7. Roast for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F and roast to desired doneness, about 15 minutes longer for medium-rare.
8. Remove to a plate and slice. After slicing, arrange the chops on a serving platter, surround with rosemary and pour the juices from the plate over the lamb.