Sunday, May 20, 2012

MOUSAKA


General Ingredients
3-4 medium size potatoes
3-4 medium size aubergines
3-4 medium size marrows

For the bolognaise:
1 onion finely chopped
100gr of veggie mince
250ml of tomatoe juice
Oregano, Salt & Pepper

For the Béchamel sauce
¼ cup of sunflower oil
½ cup of flour
2 ½ cups of milk
½ pack of Halloumi cheese grated






PROCEDURE
STEP 1
1.       Peel the potatoes and wash all of your vegetables
2.       In a plastic bowl add ½ cup of vinegar and top it up with water
3.       Cut your vegetables length-wise as illustrated in the picture
4.       Put all the vegetables in the vinegar mixture and allow them to soak for 5 minutes
5.       Remove from the bowl the potatoes and let them dry for a few minutes.
6.       In a deep frying pan add lots of oil and let it heat for 5 minutes. Add as many potatoes as your pan allows you to. As soon as the potatoes rise to the surface of the oil and have a light yellow to brownish colour, remove them and put them in a strainer for a few minutes.
7.       In your oven pan, start putting the potatoes until you have covered the pan.
8.       Follow the same procedure as above for the aubergines and the marrows.
9.       Once all the layers are in the pan, start preparing your bolognaise.









STEP 2
10.   Add a bit of oil in a small pot. As soon as it heats up, add the onion.
11.   Once the onion starts becoming soft and light brownish in colour, add the veggie mince.
12.   Stir it for a few minutes and then add the tomatoe juice and half a cup of water
13.   Add the spices (oregano, salt & pepper) and let it cook for 10-15 minutes
14.    Once the bolognaise is ready, add it in the oven on top of the marrows as per the picture.

 
STEP3
15.   Time to prepare our Béchamel sauce, which will go on top.
16.   In a deep cooking pot, add the oil and let it heat for 5 minutes.
17.   Add the flour and keep on stirring slowly.  The mixture will look like a solid mass
18.   Pour the milk ½ cup each time and stir as fast as you can. The purpose of pouring the milk slowly and the non-stop stir is to avoid the mixture from creating lumps. The sauce must be nice and smooth.
19.   Once you have poured all of the milk, keep on stirring and leave it on the heat for 5 more minutes
20.   Turn off the stove and add ½ of the grated halloumi cheese into the sauce.
21.   Add the Béchamel sauce on top of the bolognaise and add the rest of the grated halloumi.
Turn on your oven at 150o Celsius and allow it to pre-heat for 15 minutes. Put your mousaka in the oven and cook it for 40-50 minutes or until the top of the Mousaka becomes brown as per the picture. 

KOUPEPIA


INGREDIENTS
1 onion finely chopped
150 grams of veggie mince
½ cup of rice
500ml of tomatoe sauce
Lemon
Salt, pepper
Vine leaves

PROCEDURE
STEP 1
1.       In a cooking pot, add a bit of oil and the finely chopped onion.  Maintain a low heat to ensure the onion cooks.
2.       Once the onion has softened, add the veggie mince.
3.       Let the mixture sit for a few minutes and add the rice.
4.       Stir well for 1-2 minutes and add the 250ml of tomatoe juice and a tiny bit of water.
5.       Let it cook for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is half cooked
6.       Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool for one hour

STEP 2
7.       Spread your vine leaves and using a small spoon add the mixture from step 1. Do so by ensuring that the mixture is spread evenly, starting on the lower side of the vine-leaf.
8.       With the mixture inside your vine-leaf, fold it, starting first from the back, then the sides and finally roll it.
9.       Put your stuffed vine leaves in an oven pan, add the remaining 250ml of tomatoe juice and the juice of the squeezed lemon.
10.   Seal the top of the oven pan with aluminium foil, put it in the oven on 170o Celcious for 30 minutes.
11.   Once the 30 minutes has passed, uncover your pan and leave it in the oven to cook for another 10-15 minutes.
12.   Allow to cool. Eat warm or cold, depending on your personal preference. 

  Enjoy

      

Monday, May 14, 2012

TSOUREKI (Sweet Greek Easter Bread)


Ingredients:

5 ¾ cups of flour 
3 teaspoonfuls of Royal Baking Powder or 2 Sachets of Baking Powder
1 cup of butter or Spry
1 cup of sugar
1 sachet of yeast
¾ of a cup of lukewarm water
4 large eggs
½ teaspoonful of Mahlab
½ teaspoonful of Mastic Powder
Grated peel of one fresh lemon

Procedure and step by step instructions:

1)      In a plastic mixing bowl, pour your measurement of lukewarm water

2)      Add a teaspoon of sugar, the yeast and ½ cup of flour

3)      Stir well with a whisk until the contents form a smooth mixture

4)      Place a wet, lukewarm towel on top of the bowl and wait for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you should notice the formation of bubbles on the top of your mixture; this indicates that the yeast has activated. However, during the 20 minutes that you will be waiting, please proceed to step 5.


5)      In another bowl pour in 4 cups of flour, baking powder, Mahlab and Mastic powder. Blend together.

6)      In a cooking pot, put your butter and ensure that is melts well.

7)      When your butter has melted, remove the pot from the heat, add the remaining sugar and stir well for a few minutes.

8)      When you have finished stirring, add the grated peel of lemon and stir again for few more minutes.

9)      Combine your third bowl with the butter, sugar and lemon peel with your first bowl, which by now contains a well-activated yeast mixture. Mix the contents well.

10)  Add 3 eggs and continue stirring until the entire mixture is well blended and smooth.
 

11)  Add the remaining mixture of the second bowl (flour, mahlab, baking powder and Mastic powder) very slowly until the dough becomes non-sticky. In some cases, you may need to add all of the flour.

12)  Again cover your bowl with a lukewarm damp tea-towel for at least 1 hour.

13)  When one hour has lapsed, you need to use your hands to break small pieces of the dough into palm-sized balls. Use your hands to knead them well. Using a flat surface, flatten each ball using your hands as if they were a rolling-pin. Apply pressure with the palms of your hands, rolling the ball back and forth, applying pressure from the centre, working outwards. Please refer to the picture below that indicates the shape and appearance that your dough will now take (approximately 20-20 CMs in length)

14)  Continue with step 13 until you have created 3 identical lengths. Using your hand, you will need to pleat these pieces together as per the picture below.

15)  After you have completed step 14, place your Tsoureki bread dough onto a lightly oiled baking tin, and cover with a tea-towel. Leave for 20 minutes. Ensure that you turn your oven on to a pre-heat temperature of 150 degrees Celsius. Uncover your Tsoureki bread dough and apply eggs to the surface of the dough. This will ensure that the finished bread is golden in colour.
 









16)  Place in the oven and cook for 45-50 minutes.


Saturday, April 14, 2012

KOULOURI

Traditional Cypriot Koulouri Bread

Ingredients:

4 ½ cups of wheat general purpose flour
½ sachet of self instant yeast
3 teaspoonful or 2 X 20grs sachets of Baking Powder
2 teaspoonful of sugar
2 ½ tablespoonfuls of Anise Seeds
1 ½ cup of lukewarm water
2 tablespoonfuls of Sesame seeds

Preparation and step by step instructions:

1) In a large plastic bowl, similar to that pictured, add 4 cups of flour (wheat flour is preferred), ½ sachet of yeast, three teaspoonfuls or 2 of 20grs sachets  of baking powder, two teaspoonfuls of sugar and  1 ½ tablespoon of Anise Seeds. Please note that if Anise Seeds are not available at your local supermarket, you can use instead the Star shape anise, also known as Star of Anise.

2)      If you do have to use Star of Anise, you will require the help of a pestle 
      and a mortar, in which you should crush the star Anise into tiny pieces. Avoid turning it into powder. Once all the above ingredients are in the bowl, you blend the powder mixture with your hand and shape it into a well.

3)      Start pouring the water in the middle of the well slowly while mixing it together until all of the powder mixture is moist and gluey.

4)      Continue this process until you have used all of the water. The dough, normally, should be sticky on your hands. Remove as much as you can from your hands. Then add ¼ cup of flour in your palms.

5)      Rub the flour in your hands on top of the bowl, so the remaining dough from your hands will drop in the bowl.

6)      Any flour that has fallen from your hands into the bowl will require kneading so that it forms into the rest of your dough preparation. If the dough is still sticky, use a bit more flour until the dough is firm and non-sticky. Continue kneading the dough until it takes the shape of a solid mass.

7)      Wet a tea towel with lukewarm water and squeeze it until the towel is slightly moist. Cover the dough for a minimum of 2 hours. During this time, the yeast will activate with the ingredients and your dough mixture will start to rise, in readiness for cooking.

8)      After the 2 hours pass, the first thing to do is turn on your oven for pre-heat at a temperature of 175oC.

9)      Uncover your dough, spread a ¼ cup of flour on your kitchen bench and put your dough on it. Knead the dough and roll it to give it a thick round oval shape. If it gives you some difficulty, it might help by putting some water onto a cooking brush and press it with your fingers on the areas of your dough that are broken, until the mass is sealed.
 
10)   Once it’s ready, with the cooking brush spread water on one side and sprinkle onto your uncooked dough the sesame seeds and the rest of the anise seeds. Apply on both sides and put it into your oiled baking pan. 




11)   Place your oven-ready dough into the pre-heated oven and wait for 45 minutes. As all ovens can be slightly different, it is advisable to monitor your bread’s progress during this time. To make sure that your bread is ready after the specific time passes, poke the break with a sharp pointy knife. If your knife remains clean, it’s ready. If not, give it 10 more minutes or turn off your oven and leave it there for 30 minutes to firm by itself.

Additional Tips and Advice:
Tip 1: the purpose of using lukewarm water in your dough and on your towel is to help the yeast become active. If you use cold water, then the result will not be the same.
Tip 2: if you want your bread to have a shiny appearance, instead of applying water with the cooking brush, use egg instead; this will give your bread a glowing finish.

ENJOY