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Moussaka

Moussaka recipeSounds all posh and expensive, but really it's not.
 
Ingredients:-
 
750g/1lb 10½oz Lamb mince (Beef and Pork worked in ours)
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp dried Oregano
1½ tsp dried Mint
½  Cinnamon stick. grated
1 tbsp plain flour (Gluten free if required)
400g tin chopped Tomatoes
2 tbsp Tomato purée
2 Aubergines, cut into 0.5cm slices
1 tbsp salt, plus extra for seasoning
100ml/3½fl oz olive oil
500g/1lb 2oz Maris Piper Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
freshly ground black pepper
 
For the white sauce:-
 
Margarine
Flour
Milk
Salt & Pepper
Grated Italian style Cheese
 
 
Method:-
 
(1) Put the Mince, Onion, Garlic, Oregano, Mint, and Cinnamon in a large heavy-based frying pan and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring to break up the meat.
(2) Stir in the flour and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add the Tomatoes and Tomato purée and bring to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mince is tender and the sauce has thickened. Season again if needed and set aside.
(3) Meanwhile, place the aubergine slices in a colander and sprinkle with a tablespoon of salt. Set aside for 10 minutes.
(4) Rinse the aubergine slices under cold running water and pat dry with a clean tea towel. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan and fry the aubergines for 2–3 minutes on each side, adding more oil when necessary. Remove from the pan and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.
(5) Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain in a colander under running water until cold.
(6) Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
(7) To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a large saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook for a few seconds, then gradually stir in the milk. Add half the Italian style Cheese. Simmer the sauce gently for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
(8) Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the sauce to cool. When cooled, stir in the egg.
(9) Spoon one-third of the meat sauce into a shallow ovenproof dish large enough to hold 2.5 litres. Cover loosely with a third of the potatoes and then a third of the aubergines, just arrange them roughly on top. Repeat the layers twice more, finishing with the aubergines. Pour over the white sauce, making sure it covers everything in a thick, even layer. Sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheese. Bake for 35–45 minutes, or until deep golden-brown and bubbling.

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Category: Recipes

Slow Cooker Cassoulet

Apparently - “The history of cassoulet is a history of Languedoc. One legend places the birth of cassoulet during the siege of Castelnaudary by the Black Prince, Edward the Prince of Wales, in 1355. The besieged townspeople gathered their remaining food to create a big stew cooked in a cauldron.”

Well at this time of the month this seems more than appropriate for us. It’s certainly not going to be traditional – but by definition it is a Bean Stew with leftovers!

Ingredients:-

75g of each Rosecoco, Mung and Black Eyed Beans
1 large Onion, roughly cut into 8
2 Clove of Garlic, sliced
2 Stock Cubes
1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
4 Rashers of Bacon
2 tsp dried Thyme
2 tsp Chilli Flakes
2 tsp Mixed Herbs
8 Inch fresh Fennel stem, cut into 1” lengths
Dried Porcine Mushrooms
2 Pork loin steak, cut into chunks
Salt & Pepper

Method:-

(1) Soak your Beans over night in lots of water.
(2) Drain and rinse the Beans and transfer with fresh salted water to a large pan.
(3) Cut the Bacon into good sized strips and fry until crispy. Set aside.
(4) Bring the Beans to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.
(5) Dissolve the Stock cubes in a pint of boiling water.
(6) Add all the ingredients except your bean to your slow cooker.
(7) Drain the Beans and add to the slow cooker. Top up with sufficient hot water for everything to be covered.
(8) Cook on high for 4 hours, stirring gently on occasions.
(9) Taste and add Salt & Pepper to taste.
(10) Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for a further 4 hours.

Served with a few fresh herbs over the top to brighten it up and some warm home made Ciabatta this was well worth the time. Ingredients wise it probably cost us less than £3 in total and there are at least 6 hearty portions.

 

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Category: Recipes

Potato Salad

Clearly you can buy Tatty Salad for next to nothing in a pot. But we’re not like that! During “Lock-Down” we’re spending more and more time in the kitchen, it occupies our time and we’re not couching in front of the TV all day.

Ingredients:-

Potatoes pealed quartered, boiled and drained
Mayo
Pickled Gherkins, finely chopped
Spring Onion
Squeeze of Lemon
Black Pepper
Fresh home grown Chives to dress

Method:-

(1) Let you Potatoes cool to room temperature.
(2) Mix all the dressing ingredients.
(3) Dress the Potatoes.
(4) Sprinkle with chopped Chives.
(5) Enjoy as a side.

The Gherkins and Lemon juice really lift a plain old Tatty salad to a different level and made it well worth tinkering with.

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Saturday Night Fake-Away

Obviously we can’t get a takeaway and to be fair we wouldn’t if we could. So we thought we’d have a pop at the old chippy favourite – Battered Sausages. Actually we had far too much batter so we battered our chips as well!

Ingredients for the batter:-

Rice Flour
Corn Flour
Plain Flour (Gluten free in our case)
Gram Flour
Turmeric
Salt
2 Eggs for Egg wash

Method:-

(1) Beat your Eggs in a bowl for the Egg wash.
(2) Add plain Flour to a bowl.
(3) Mix the other ingredients with enough water to make a stiff batter.
(4) Cook and cool your Sausages in the oven.
(5) Heat the fryer to 180c.
(6) Roll the sausage in flour, Egg wash and Flour again.
(7) Dunk in the Batter trying to cover evenly and fry a couple at a time until golden brown.

Perhaps not the most elegant dish we’ve ever cooked. But tasty! Lots of Salt, Vinegar, Totam & Brown Sauce - Sorted!

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Pickled Chive Heads

I’m a member of various Pickling and Fermenting groups. I saw this quick recipe and thought why not? There are loads of Chive Heads in the local Edible Garden and folk generally just pull them of to keep the plant producing leaves. The recipe suggested throwing the heads away once the pickling has finished and just using to infused Vinegar. We’ll not be doing that, they will be used to brighten up meals!

Ingredients:-

2 handfuls of Chive Heads.
Spirit Vinegar
A screw top jar!

Method:-

(1) Push as many Chive heads as you can into your Jar without crushing them.
(2) Fill the Jar with Vinegar.
(3) Seal and put aside for 7 to 10 days.

The Vinegar will turn a light red and the Chive flavour will infuse. 

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Category: Recipes

Ciabatons – (Ciabatta Baton Mini Pizzas)

We’re finding Gluten free self raising Flour almost impossible to get hold of now. So we experimented with plain GF flour and Baking Powder from the local Polish shop. To be fair I take responsibility for the fact that I got the quantities wrong and my Ciabatta didn’t rise as well as I had hoped. But we sliced it and popped it in the freezer. We had some Tomato Puree which needed using up and a bit of Chorizo loitering in the fridge. So Sue created these extremely tasty mini Pizza  thingies!

As far as the recipe goes I’ll pretend we can get Self Raising Flour, hopefully the present shortage is a temporary thing.

Ingredients for the Ciabatta:-

240g Self raising Gluten free flour
½ tsp Salt
The chopped leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh Rosemary
240ml Milk
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
4tbsp Mayonnaise

Method:-

(1) Mix all the ingredients to a batter sort of consistency.
(2) Preheat the oven to 200c.
(3) Pour into a Bread Tin and cook for 30 minutes or until it golden brown.
(4) Tip out onto a cooling rack.

Ingredients for the topping:-

Chorizo very finely chopped
Tomato Puree
½ tin of chopped Tomatoes
Onion finely chopped
Minced fresh Garlic
Mixed Herbs
Grated Cheese
Fresh Parsley

Method:-

(1) Slice the Ciabatta to about 1cm think.
(2) Fry the Onion and Garlic gently.
(3) Add all the other ingredients except the Cheese and simmer for at least half a hour.
(4) Spread what is now a spicy Pizza sauce of the Ciabatta.
(5) Sprinkle with grated Cheese and grill until the Cheese has melted.
(6) Sprinkle with fresh Parsley.

 

  1. Bean & Beef Burger
  2. Gluten free Rosemary Yorkshire Puddings
  3. Halloumi
  4. Gnocchi

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