Greek Moussaka Recipe - How To Make A Light and Tasty Moussaka

How to make a light and tasty Moussaka

Ingredients
2 medium Aubergines
450g minced lamb
2 white onions (peeled & roughly chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (peeled & chopped)
275g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 teaspoon sugar (optional to sweeten tomatoes)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground all spice
olive oil
2-3 medium potatoes (optional  sliced and roasted in oil until softened and golden)

For my topping:-
1/2 pint of  Greek yogurt
2  egg,yolks
black pepper
1 handful grated parmesan cheese
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

For a traditional béchamel sauce topping:-
875ml milk (whisk milk into the flour/butter roux a little at a time until thick and creamy)
100g butter
100g flour
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 egg yolks
100g grated Kefalotyri Greek cheese

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 200°Centegrade .
2.Heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the eggplant in batches for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden and softened. Remove and set aside. Alternatively slice and toss the Aubergine and the potatoes, if using, in olive oil and roast in an oven until softened and golden in colour.
3.Heat a little oil in a separate saucepan and fry the onion and garlic 5-10 minutes, on a low heat until softened.
4.Add the minced lamb and cook, stirring continuously, until browned. Now stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes and herbs. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on. Add a splash of water if the meat starts to dry out.
5.Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook for a further 5 minutes.
6.Mix the yogurt, egg yolks and cheese together with some pepper and a touch of nutmeg.
7.Layer an 8 inch by 8 inch by 3 inch deep casserole/Pyrex dish with the fried aubergines (and potatoes if using) and top with a layer of the meat sauce then repeat until all ingredients are used up.
8.Spread the yogurt mixture over the top. Or the Béchamel Sauce mix if making this topping.
9.Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and  little more nutmeg if desired.
10.Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden.

Apple Pancakes - How To Make

Apple Pancakes

Bored with plain pancakes?
Here is a way to jazz up simple pancakes using a couple of apples.
Core and cut two apples into chunks.
Put into a saucepan with a couple of teaspoons of sugar and a splash of water.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon and a couple of Cloves and leave to simmer until the apples are soft.
Remove the cloves and add a handful of chopped Almonds to the mixture.
Check the sweetness of the apples as now is the time to adjust the seasoning.
Spoon the apples over the pancakes and roll them up..
Place into a gratin dish and cover with the left over apples and bake in the oven at 150 centigrade for 10-15 minutes or until they look like the pancakes are crisping up.
Remove to cool a little before serving with Vanilla Ice-cream and a sprinkle of Icing Sugar over the top.

Simple Pancakes - How to Make

How to make delicious simple pancakes for Shrove Tuesday.

Ingredients
200 ml Milk
100 gms plain Flour
2 Eggs
Caster Sugar
Jam
Lemon Juice

Try this with Nutella, mashed Banana or any other filling you like.

A tasty home made Shepherds Pie - how to make

How to make Leek & Potato soup

For those cold winter days, try making some Leek and Potato Soup to warm yourself up.
Here is a great recipe for you to try.

How to make Leek & Potato soup. Follow our video recipe for a very tasty soup for those cold winter days.
Leek and Potato Soup
Ingredients
1lb Leeks (3 medium sized leeks quartered, washed and diced)
2 Carrots (peeled, washed, quartered and diced)
2 Celery Sticks (washed and diced)
1 small Onion (peeled and diced)
2 large Potatoes (peeled washed and diced)
2 pints of Chicken Stock (or water and Chicken Stock cube)
Salt
Pepper
250ml / 1/4 pint of Milk or Cream (plus additional cream to garnish)
Parsley or Chives to garnish

Method
Quarter the Leeks checking for dirt and wash thoroughly, then dice.
Peel, wash and quarter the Carrots, and then dice.
Wash and dice the Celery
Peel, split in half  and dice all the Onion.
Peel, wash and dice the Potato.
In a large saucepan, sauté, over a low heat, the Carrot Onion and Celery. We want to soften, not add colour. When soft, add in the Leek and sauté for a few minutes before adding the Potatoes. After a few minutes on the hob,, add in 2 pints of Chicken Stock and bring to a boil and then leave to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
Add in the milk or cream, and season with salt and pepper. Return to the heat for a further 5 minutes.
Use a stick blender or a blender and blend the soup to the texture you wish.
Pour into bowls and garnish with a spoonful of cream and parsley or chives to decorate.
Serve hot with crusty bread.