Moussaka or Musakka, Potato, Patato - either way its delish

Moussaka is an eggplant and/or potato-based dish popular in Balkan and Mediterranean cuisines, with many local and regional variations. The same name and recipe is found throughout the lands that were formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. In Greece, the dish is layered and typically enjoyed hot. In Turkey, it is sautéed and served in the style of a casserole, and is consumed warm or at room temperature. In Arabic countries, a variant of the same recipe is eaten cold.

Greece Most versions are based primarily on sautéed eggplant and tomato, usually with minced meat. The Greek version includes layers of meat and eggplant topped with a Béchamel ("white") sauce, and baked. The modern Greek version was probably formulated in the 1920s. It has three layers that are separately cooked before being combined together for the final baking: a bottom layer of sliced eggplants sautéed in olive oil; a middle layer of ground lamb lightly cooked with chopped or puréed tomatoes, onion, garlic, and spices (cinnamon,allspice and black pepper); and a top layer of Béchamel sauce or savoury custard. 

Turkey Turkish musakka is not layered. Instead, it is prepared with sautéed eggplants, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and minced meat. It is eaten with cacık and pilaf. There are also variants with zucchini, carrots and potatoes.

Balkans Serbian, Macedonian and Bulgarian (countries formerly part of the Ottoman Empire) versions use potatoes instead of eggplants, pork mince, and the top layer is yogurt mixed with raw eggs and a couple of spoons of flour. The Romanian version is made usually with potatoes or eggplant or cabbage. The layers start with the vegetable, then the layer of meat (usually pork), then vegetables, until the pot is full. Sometimes bread crumbs are used for toppings, sometimes slices of tomatoes and crushed cheese. The pot is then filled with tomato sauce. In the rest of the Balkans, the top layer is often a custard: this is the version introduced in the UK by Elizabeth David's Mediterranean Cookery and where it remains as the "classic" presentation. Grated cheese or bread crumbs are often sprinkled on top.

This recipe has taken into account all three methods. I use potatoes on the bottom layer to create a crispy potato crust, but you can easily substitute eggplant for the potatoes in the recipe, as I quite often do. I eat it warm with a side salad of fresh garden vegetables.

Ingredients:

Filling :

1 lb of minced meat, Lamb or Beef
1 medium onion minced
1 clove of garlic minced
2 stalks of celery minced
1 small zucchini chopped
1 tsp of oregano
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of all spice
1/4 tsp of tumeric
1/4 tsp of hot chili peppers
1/2 tsp of smoked hot paprika (optional)
2 tomatoes chopped
2 lbs of potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
salt & pepper
2 TBSP of olive oil

Bechamel:

1 Qrt or liter of Whole Milk
5 TBSP of butter
5 TBSP of flour
2 cloves of garlic crushed but not minced (optional)
2 sprigs of thyme (optional)
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Filling

Heat large skillet on medium heat.  Add oil, onions, celery, garlic, and spices.  cook until tender about 8-10 minutes.  Remove vegetables and place in a bowl.  In same pan cook meat, making sure it is finely crumbled.  Add tomatoes, zucchini and cooked vegetables and simmer on low while you cook potatoes and bechamel sauce. 

Peel and rinse potatoes.  Slice very thin about 1/4" on a mandoline.  Rinse again and pat dry.  You have two choices here - you can fry them in a pan until tender, or roast them.  I am lazy and prefer to slow roast in the oven while I make my sauce.  I toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper and place them on a cooling rack then on a cookie sheet in a 350o oven for about 15 minutes.  i like the flavor when they are a little crispy from roasting, but the choice is yours.  The most important thing is the potatoes are cooked until they are tender - THEY WILL NOT COOK IN THE OVEN when you bake the Moussaka.

Bechamel Sauce:

Melt butter in large sauce pan over medium low heat add flour and stir.  Cook until lightly golden brown, about 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally  so it doesn't burn. Increase heat to medium high and slowly add milk and stir with a whisk to prevent lumps. Add garlic & thyme, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 15- 20 minutes while sauce thickens and infuses with flavor.  Remove from heat, remove garlic and thyme.  Add parmesan cheese.  Adjust flavor with additional pinch of salt if needed. 


Grease a 9x9 baking pan. Place a few TBSP of filling on the bottom of the pan, this is just to prevent the potatoes from sticking.  Layer pan with two rows of potatoes.  Cover with filling and repeat process.  Make sure your top layer is meat.  Add bechamel sauce, covering entire pan.  I like to tap the pan on the counter and add more sauce if I have it.  Cover with a sheet of wax paper  sprayed with a bit of cooking spray to prevent the sauce from sticking and turning grey.  Add foil and place on a baking tray and in a 375o oven for 40 minutes.  

After 40 minutes turn oven to broil, remove foil and waxed paper.  gently brown the top of the bechamel sauce.  this happens fast so keep a watchful eye.

Remove from oven, and let rest for 15 minutes.  Prepare a side salad and serve.  Enjoy

Country Style Beef Stew

A beef stew is a combination of food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the reduced gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables (such as carrots, potatoes, turnip, parsnips, onions, celery and tomatoes, etc.), meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as shoulder and butt cuts of beef.  While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, wine, stock, and beer are also common. Seasoning and flavourings may also be added. Stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature (simmered, not boiled), allowing flavors to mingle this is the single most important aspect of making a stew - long and slow.

This makes it popular in low-cost cooking. Tougher cuts having a certain amount of marbling and gelatinous connective tissue give moist, juicy stews, while lean meat may easily become dry. It is always best to cut your own stew meat.

Stews are similar to soups, generally, stews have less liquid than soups, are much thicker and require longer cooking over low heat. While soups are almost always served in a bowl, stews may be thick enough to be served on a plate with the gravy as a sauce over the solid ingredients.

Stews have been made since ancient times. Herodotus has been quoted as far back as the 8th century BC discussing about how to cook stew. Ancient Romans recipes from the cookbook Apicius (believed to date back to the 4th century) have recipes for lamb and fish stews. My recipe may not be as old but I assure you the warm feeling you will have in your tummy will be the same as the ancients had experienced. 

This is perfect if you have a slow cooker! If you want to take a few minutes to prep the meat and vegetables ahead the night before and store in the fridge you will have the greatest reward the next day for dinner. Don't buy pre cut stew meat, it's too lean and will dry out. Always cut your own meat when making stew. In this case the fattier, the better.  Using a Turnip (rutabaga) is my secret ingredient.

Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs of Beef, chuck or rump roast, cut into 1" cubes
• 2 cups of Yukon gold potatoes -cut into 1" cubes
• 2 cups of sliced carrots
• 2 stalks of celery sliced
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 cup of turnip cut into 1" cubes **my secret ingredient***
• 1/2 cup of sliced parsnips
• 1  medium white onion thinly sliced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 clove of garlic crushed (optional)
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 tsp of onion powder
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 1 tsp of hot pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 TBSP of summer savory or greek oregano
• vegetable oil for sauteing 
• 4 cups of beef stock (you can substitute water, but you will need to use beef bullion cubes see package for instructions)
• 1 cup of red wine - Cabernet Sauvignon, or Shiraz are my favorites since they are full bodied
• 2 TBSP of flour
• 2 TSBP of butter

Directions:

Cube meat into 1" pieces, remove any excess fat, place in a bowl and mix with garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and salt.  Seasoning your meat at this stage will reward you with flavourful nuggets of meat.  Let rest while peeling, slicing and cubing your vegetables.  You may wish to soak your potatoes in cold water to keep from turning brown

Heat a 5 Quart stock pot or dutch oven with 1 TBSP of vegetable oil on medium high heat, ( if using a crock pot to make your stew, you can use a frying pan to cook your meat) 

Cook you meat in small batches, this may take a couple of minutes, but its what will make your stew everyones favorite. Do not over crowd the pan, you want to sear the meat on all sides, not steam it. Set the seared meat aside on a place with a slight lip, you want to save any juice that seeps out.  You will repeat this process until all the meat is cooked.  

* Important note.  You want a nice brown fawn to develop on the bottom of your pan, but you don't want it to burn. After the second batch, I deglaze my pan with a bit of stock and pour it over the reserved cooked meat, and continue the process. 

After final batch of meat is cooked, reduce heat to medium and add onion, carrots, turnip, parsnip and celery, cook for 2-3 minutes scrapping up any fawn on the bottom of the pan. Add flour mixing with the vegetables for 2-3 minutes add butter and stir until melted.  Deglaze your pan with red wine and 1 cup of beef stock. If you don't like red wine in your stew just use and additional cup of beef stock.  Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil, for two minutes, add remaining stock, beef, bay leaves, hot pepper flakes, garlic and summer savory and reduce heat to low and cover

*Note - You have two options to finish your stew and I've used both.  You can place your pot in a preheated 300F or keep it on the stove on low heat and cook for 1 1/2 hours.   I use the oven on days that I make biscuits (recipe can be found on blog with chicken pot pie)

After 1 1/2 hours add potatoes and cook for an additional 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and return to stove to medium heat. Add frozen peas and cook for 3 minutes.  Adjust salt and pepper to taste, remove Bay leaves  and serve.

This next step is up to your preference of how thick your like your gravy.  I generally like my gravy on the thicker side.  If it is too thin when I remove it from the oven I will turn the heat up to medium to bring it to a gentle boil.  Mix 1 TBSP of flour to 1/2 cup of cold water in a jar with a tight lid and shake to make sure there are no lumps.  to prevent lumps make sure you add the flour to the water, and not water to the flour.  Also make sure your stew is gently boiling when you add the flour water slurry.  Slowly add while stirring for two to three minutes to thicken.   

Adjust salt and pepper to taste 

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