Soutzoukakia (Meatballs in tomato sauce) by Granny Despina

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Frying time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Moschari me Freska Manitaria: Beef & Mushroom Ragout

In Greek: μοσχάρι με φρέσκα μανιτάρια, pronounced mos-HAH-ree meh FRES-kah mah-nee-TAH-reeyah

This is a very easy recipe to make, and a delicious dish to serve with noodles or rice. The recipe works well with portobello, oyster, and regular white mushrooms.

Cook Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Moussaka me Melitzanes: Moussaka with Eggplant

In Greek: μουσακά με μελιτζάνες, pronounced moo-sah-KAH meh meh-leed-ZAH-nes

Moussaka can be any dish of layered vegetables and ground meat, and dishes with the same or similar names are prepared in several areas of the world. Other Greek versions call for artichokes, potatoes, and zucchini, or a combination, but this is the classic known worldwide. Moussaka is generally served in large portions.
No one ever said it was easy, but it's worth the effort!

Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

· 5-6 medium Globe eggplants (about 5-6 pounds)
· sea salt
· olive oil
· 2 large onions, chopped
· 2 1/2 pounds (1 kilo) of ground beef
· 3 cups of chopped ripe tomatoes with juice (or canned tomatoes)
· 3 cloves of garlic, minced
· 6-8 whole cloves
· 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon or a small stick (break off around 1 inch long)
· 1/8 teaspoon of ground allspice
· 2 bay leaves
· 1 cup of grated kefalotyri cheese (or pecorino or parmigiano reggiano)
· 1 cup of breadcrumbs
· 1/2 cup of dry red wine
· 3 tablespoons of tomato paste
· freshly ground pepper
· béchamel with cheese

Preparation:

* See my recipes for Béchamel with Cheese

Build the Moussaka from the bottom up:

PREPARE EGGPLANT

Wash eggplants and trim off stems. Cut off 1/2-inch wide strips of the skin lengthwise, leaving about an inch in between, all around the eggplant, then cut eggplant lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices. Put slices in a large bowl or on a tray, sprinkle liberally with salt and let them sit for 30 minutes. Rinse well, drain, and pat dry. Brush slices lightly on both sides with olive oil and run them under the broiler on an ungreased cookie sheet until lightly browned and soft. Remove and set aside to cool.

Note: If you've never fixed this before, there are two reasons often given for salting the eggplant: (1) to remove any bitterness, and (2) to absorb some of the natural liquids.

PREPARE MEAT SAUCE

Preheat the frying pan or skillet over low heat.

When the pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons of oil and increase the heat to medium low. Sauté the onions with a wooden spoon, until onions are translucent. Add the meat and continue to sauté until lightly browned. Add tomatoes, 1/2 the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, allspice, wine, and tomato paste, and mix well. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Note: If there is still liquid in the pan, continue to simmer uncovered, stirring to prevent sticking, until the mixture is as dry as possible. To prevent the final dish from having too much moisture, this step is crucial.

When dry, remove the cloves, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick (if used), and set sauce aside uncovered until ready to use.

PREPARE BECHAMEL SAUCE

While the sauce is simmering, make the bechamel, cover, and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

BUILD THE MOUSSAKA

Lightly oil a baking or roasting pan and sprinkle the bottom with the remaining 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs. Place a layer of eggplant slices on the breadcrumbs (it's ok to overlap) and spread the meat mixture evenly on top. Cover with the remaining eggplant slices, and carefully pour the béchamel sauce evenly over the top.
Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 30 minutes, then sprinkle the cheese over the top, and continue to cook for another 15 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove the moussaka from the oven and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes. Moussaka is traditionally eaten warm, not hot, and can also be eaten at room temperature. Like many Greek dishes, this is even better the next day.

Yield: approximately 8 servings

Serving suggestions:

Moussaka is traditionally served in very large pieces and it is a heavy dish. Serve with a green salad, crusty bread, and a dry red wine. If anyone has room for dessert, a fruit sorbet or cheese with fruit is a light way to end on a sweet note.

Notes:

· In Greece, Moussaka is most often made with ground beef.
· Moussaka can be prepared up to the béchamel and refrigerated overnight. The next day, add the béchamel sauce and cook. It can also be completely cooked and cooled, then frozen and reheated.

Moshari Yiouvetsi: Beef & Pasta Casserole

In Greek: μοσχάρι γιουβέτσι, pronounced mohs-HAH-ree yoo-VET-see

This is one of my girls favorites, and a great way to start with oven-baked casseroles that are so common in Greek cooking. Whether you use a traditional yiouvetsi (fired clay casserole pot) or another type of oven-proof casserole dish, this oven-to-table main dish is sure to please.

Yiouvetsi is the name of a fired terracotta casserole pot in which dishes with meat, poultry, or seafood are traditionally cooked with pastas, however any oven-proof covered casserole dish can be substituted. An easy one-pot oven-to-table dish. This recipe doesn't require any special cut of beef; cheaper cuts do quite well.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

· 3 - 3 1/2 pounds of stew meat, cut into serving-sized chunks (not bite-sized)
· 6 tablespoons of olive oil
· 2 large onions, minced
· 4 cloves of garlic, diced
· 1 pound of ripe tomatoes (chopped) or 3 cups of canned stewed tomatoes
· 4 cups of beef broth or water
· 1 pound of small or medium orzo pasta
· 2 teaspoons of sea salt
· 1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
· 1 small stick of cinammon
· grated kefalotyri or pecorino cheese or regato or parmesan (parmigiano)

Preparation:

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, sauté the meat in 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until browned on all sides (about 10 minutes). Remove the meat with tongs or a spoon (do not pierce with a fork) and set aside. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pot and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion softens. Add the water or broth, cinammon, tomatoes, pepper, and meat (using tongs or a spoon). Stir to mix and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until the meat is tender (about 1 hour). With a wooden spoon, stir in salt and orzo, cover and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C).

Spoon the meat into a an oven-safe covered casserole dish, and pour the orzo and liquids around the meat. Cover and bake for approximately 50 minutes, until the orzo is cooked and there's still some liquid sauce.

Remove from oven and let rest, covered, for 30 minutes. Serve with grated cheese.

Yield: serves 6

Serving suggestions: Divide and bake in 6 covered oven-proof terracotta or ceramic bakers for individual servings. (The small bakers can be covered with foil during cooking if they don't have lids.)

Variations:

· Lamb can be substituted for the beef.
· Short macaroni-type soup pasta (ditali or tubetti) can be substituted for the orzo.

Pastitsio

If you've never tried Pastitsio, you're in for a real treat when you experiment with this recipe. This is a rich meat and pasta casserole that is a wonderful one-dish meal for a chilly winter evening. It requires several ingredients, but is quite easy to make. This definitely isn't a low fat or low calorie dish, but it is a terrific treat to enjoy on special occasions. Hearty and delicious. The beauty of this recipe (besides great taste) is it's ability to freeze (and defrost) so well, with no loss of flavour, making it ideal for once a month cooking.

To prepare Pastitsio, you will need to make a meat sauce, a white sauce, and prepare the pasta before combining everything to bake.


Prep Time: 1 hours, 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

· 1 kg beef mince
· 1/2 kg macaroni for pastitsio (Traditionally, Greek macaroni no. 2 pasta is used but ziti or other tubular pasta, long or short, can be substituted)
· 1 large red onion finely cut
· 1 – 2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
· 3 big ripe tomatoes, grated
· 2 tea-cups grated cheeses (caseri, kefalograviera, parmesan or halloumi)
· 1 tea-cup white dry wine
· 1/2 tea-cup olive oil
· salt, pepper
· 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinammon
· 1 cup finely chopped parsley


For the béchamel sauce (white sauce): In Greek: μπεσαμέλ, pronounced beh-sah-MEL
· 7-8 tbsp flour
· 6 tbsp butter or Olive Oil
· 4 tea-cups freshly-boiled milk
· 3 eggs
· salt and pepper
· cinammon
· 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

Preparation:
Boil macaroni in salted water (don't let them boil too much), drain and return to the pot (but not over any heat) toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to prevent sticking, and set aside. Meanwhile put the finely chopped garlic and the onion in a frying pan saute them and when they wither, add mince, broken in pieces, along with salt, pepper and the ground cinammon. When it’s almost cooked sprinkle with wine and add the tomatoes and finally the parsley. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid has been absorbed. Mmmm...fragrant!

For the béchamel make your best efforts. Put butter in a pot and melt it in medium heat. Then add flour, stirring all the time with wire, not to let it stick. When they are mixed and a bit golden in colour, add slowly the boiled milk and stir into a thick white sauce (add some more flour if not thick enough). After sauce is creamy, remove from heat and allow it 2 – 3 minutes to cool. In the meatime beat three eggs in a bowl and after the white sauce cools add them to it stirring with the wire and return to the heat, whisking briskly until well blended. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use. Butter a roasting pan and lay out half of the macaroni and put on top half of the grated cheese. Add mince (see that it goes everywhere), the rest of macaroni, the rest of cheese and carefully pour the home made béchamel over the top and use a spatula to spread evenly. Springle with cinammon and breadcrumbs and cook in the heated oven for about an hour at 180 C or until the sauce rises and turns golden brown.

Remove pan from oven and allow to cool before serving (Pastitsio is served warm, not hot). Cut into rectangular pieces

Eat it with your family or friends.

Notes: This dish can be prepared the day before, all the way to the béchamel sauce, refrigerated overnight, and cooked the next day after adding the sauce.

Keftedakia (Meat Balls)

Keftethakia are a favorite dish and easy to make. I usually make up large batches of the meat mixture and use some for these cocktail meatballs, and others for hamburger patties or meatballs in sauce.
Tip: When buying the ground meat, ask the butcher to grind it twice. The grind used in the originals is finer than that usually found in grocery stores.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

· 1 Kilo of lean ground beef
· 2 large onions, grated
· 5 tablespoon of Greek Mint
· 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
· 1 tablespoon of sea salt
· 2 eggs, beaten with a fork
· 2 slices of white bread, crust removed (best if slightly stale)
· 1 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
· 3 tablespoons of olive oil
· 1/4 cup of toasted breadcrumbs
· 2 big potatoes thinly grated and squeeze out the juice
· 1 teaspoon BP
· olive oil for frying
· some flour


Preparation:

Wet the bread, squeeze out the moisture. Mix all ingredients for 10 minutes by hand until soft and well blended.
Form the meat into slightly flattened balls with a diameter of about 1 3/4 inches at most (about the diameter of a golf ball)and roll them in the flour.
Pour about 1/3 inch of olive oil into the frying pan and heat until hot. Add meatballs, and fry over medium heat until brown on all sides (about 15-20 minutes). (A 10-inch frying pan will hold about 25 meatballs.)
Serve with lemon wedges.
Yield: 40 cocktail meatballs
(if the micture is more than you wish to use for the day you can always safe the rest in a special freezer bag for another day to use!!