Crypt, Ios
Ahh, Greece. What a bloody great holiday that was ... just over three years ago now (holy crap). So I've been meaning to have Kerry over for dinner for ages, and we finally found an evening that suited us both, so I cooked him and Kyle up a bit of a Hellenic feast (if two dishes can be classed as a feast!). Thus, in honour of the dearly departed dinnerblog (which lives on at meish.org), I present for your potential inspiration the evening's delicacies:
Dave's Moussaka
This is adapted from several different "official" sources but here's how I did it tonight.
2 eggplants
1 onion
500g minced beef or lamb
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin Watties Morroccan-style tomatoes (or substitute with a second can of plain tomatoes and add more cinnamon and cumin)
½ t cinnamon
1 t cumin
2 t oregano
a good grind of black pepper
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 cups milk (approx.)
1 cup grated tasty cheese (plus extra to go on top)
2 eggs
Slice the eggplants lengthways into 5mm slices. Rinse with cold water, sprinkle liberally with salt and place in a colander for half an hour to allow any bitterness to drain away.
Dice the onion and sauté. Add the minced beef or lamb and brown off. Drain any excess oil away, then add the tomatoes, cinnamon, cumin, oregano and pepper. Stir and allow to simmer for half an hour, stirring occasionally.
Make a roux (ooh, hark at me and my fancy cookery phrases) by melting the butter in a saucepan, heating it to bubbling point, then adding the flour and stirring until the mixture turns golden. Whisk in the milk a bit at a time until the sauce is of a not-too-runny consistency. Add the grated cheese and whisk to combine. Take the sauce off the heat and allow to cool.
After the eggplant slices have sat sufficiently, shake off any excess brine and shallow fry them over a high heat until they've softened and browned slightly (this will probably need to be done in two batches).
Still with me? If so, you're now ready to assemble the moussaka. At that point, beat the two eggs and whisk these into the cooled cheese sauce. Place a thin layer of the meat on the bottom of a rectangular lasagne dish, then cover with a layer of eggplant. Add another meat layer, then half the cheese sauce. On goes another eggplant layer, then some more meat, then any more eggplant you have left, then the rest of the cheese sauce to cover.
Finish by sprinkling the extra grated cheese on top of the moussaka, then bake at about 160°C for about 30-45 minutes until the topping is nicely golden brown.
Greek salad
I really shouldn't need to explain how to do this because it's so easy and yet it's possibly the tastiest thing on the planet ... you honestly can't beat a good Greek salad, laydeez and gennulmen.
3 fresh tomatoes
½ cucumber
250g feta cheese (goat's or cow's milk - it's all good)
½ red onion
10-15 black olives (preferably kalamata)
1 T chopped parsley
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T oil
Wedge the tomatoes, slice the cucumber in two lengthwise then slice it widthwise, dice the feta, slice the red onion thinly, stone the olives (not the crows), hack up the parsley and then mix them all up. Dress with the combined vinegar/oil.
Kalinikta!
‹ 23.10.03
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