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 150^o 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 170^o 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

      

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.