Pastitsio with Penne

I heart pastitsio big time. This is a typical Greek favourite dish equivalent to lasagne basically with layers of meat, pasta & a thick, fluffy béchamel layer on top, what's not to like? Whilst working and having the tv on in the background, my whole focus switched from laptop to tv in a nano second, they were halfway through making pastitsio on cooking show on Star channel. I was drooling at this point. The version the cooks were making was with penne pasta as opposed to the usual long tubular macaroni and a different kinda Bechamel sauce.

Here's the recipe in Greek, will translate in a short while!

Υλικά για ένα ταψί 24 Χ34 εκ.

400 γρ. πένες ή άλλο κοντό ζυμαρικό - 400g Penne

1 κρεμμύδι ξερό ψιλοκομμένο - 1 onion chopped finely

2 σκ. σκόρδο ψιλοκομμένες - 2 cloves garlic chopped

800 γρ. κιμά ανάμεικτο (χοιρινό και μοσχαρίσιο) - 800g minced beef

½ φλ. λευκό κρασί - 1/2 cup white wine

400 γρ. ντοματάκια κονσέρβας - 400g tomato conserve/tinned tommies

1 ξυλάκι κανέλλα - 1tsp ground cinnamon/1 stick

1 δαφνόφυλλο - 1 bay leaf

1 ματσάκι δυόσμο - 1 bunch of spearmint

½ φλ. κεφαλοτύρι τριμμένο - 1/2 cup grated Kefalotyri cheese

2 κ.σ φρυγανιά τριμμένη - a bit of fine breadcrumb

Αλάτι, πιπέρι, - salt & pepper

Για την κρέμα - Krema/Bechamel sauce

1 κ.σ μαργαρίνη ή βούτυρο - 1 spoon margarine/butter

1 φλ. αλεύρι για όλες τις χρήσεις - 1 cup all purpose flour

1 λίτρο ζεστό γάλα - 1litre hot milk

2 αυγά - 2 eggs

½ φλ κεφαλοτύρι - 1/2 cup grated kefalotyri cheese

Μοσχοκάρυδο - nutmeg

Διαδικασία

Σε αντικολλητική κατσαρόλα καβουρδίζουμε το κιμά , προσθέτουμε το κρεμμύδι ,2 κ.σ ελαιόλαδο . αφήνουμε να σοταριστούν όλα μαζί και προσθέτουμε το σκόρδο. Σβήνουμε με το κρασί. Βάζουμε τα ντοματάκια ψιλοκομμένα , το δαφνόφυλλο, τη κανέλα. Αλατοπιπερώνουμε ,βάζουμε και 1 φλ. νερό και αφήνουμε τον κιμά να βράσει. Όταν το μίγμα μείνει με λίγο ζουμάκι το αποσύρουμε από τη φωτιά και προσθέτουμε το κεφαλοτύρι και το δυόσμο.

Παράλληλα βράζουμε αλ ντέντε τις πένες . σουρώνουμε τις πένες και τις ενώνουμε με το κιμά. Ετοιμάζουμε τη μπεσαμέλ με το ελαιόλαδο: ζεσταίνουμε το γάλα σε ένα κατσαρόλι. Σε άλλο σκεύος ζεσταίνουμε το ελαιόλαδο ,ρίχνουμε το αλεύρι και ανακατεύουμε σε χαμηλή φωτιά ώσπου το μίγμα να σκουρύνει ελαφρώς. Προσθέτουμε σταδιακά το ζεστό γάλα ανακατεύοντας διαρκώς για να μην σβολιάσει. Αφήνουμε τη σάλτσα να πήξει και νοστιμίζουμε με αλάτι, πιπέρι και μοσχοκάρυδο. Αποσύρουμε από τη φωτιά και προσθέτουμε τα αυγά –ελαφρά χτυπημένα- και το κεφαλοτύρι.

Στρώνουμε στο ταψί το μίγμα ζυμαρικά, κιμάς . Από πάνω στρώνουμε τη σάλτσα και πασπαλίζουμε με την τριμμένη φρυγανιά. Ψήνουμε σε προθερμασμένο φούρνο στους 200 βαθμούς μέχρι να χρυσίσει η επιφάνεια , περίπου για 40 λεπτά. Αφήνουμε το παστίτσιο να κρυώσει λίγο πριν το κόψουμε σε τετράγωνα κομμάτια

Ok, I'm not going to translate this literally word for word as my Greek is terrible, the basic instructions are as follows:

Preparation:

Make the Meat Sauce

Sauté the onions until translucent in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan. Add meat and continue to stir until lightly brown. Add the tomatoes, cinnamon, cloves, garlic, salt, and pepper and stir well to combine. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid has been absorbed, about 30-35 minutes. This is very important - the meat mixture should be as dry as possible without sticking to the bottom of the pan. Set meat mixture aside, uncovered, and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease a baking oven dish 24x34

Prepare the Pasta

While the meat is simmering, prepare the pasta. Cook until slightly underdone, drain, toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to prevent sticking, and set aside.

Making the Krema/Bechamel sauce

Heat milk up, spoon a cup full into a bowl and add flour, whisk until flour is combined and thick, add more milk if necessary (ie mixture is too dry). Pour thick milk flour mixture into the pan of hot milk and whisk away until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat, whisk in the 2 eggs, add the grated cheese and add salt & pepper if required.

Spread the breadcrumbs evenly on the bottom of an oven proof dish. Use 1/2 the pasta for the first layer and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the grated cheese mix in a little of the meat sauce. Add remaining pasta. Remove bay leaves from the sauce, add the meat sauce evenly over the pasta, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Carefully pour the béchamel over the top and use a spatula to spread evenly.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the top of the sauce is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool before cutting the pieces or it will not hold!

Penguin Iceberg Tourta

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIDDO!

Something for the weekend: Banana Coconut Muffins

The weekend always starts with a wholesome, slightly lardy breakfast of smoked ham, fried eggs and lashings of syrup. Ok, maybe not every weekend... but we prefer to have naughty food to kick start the mornings.


I've got a whole loada ripe banana waiting to be used in my usual banana nut muffin, but I feel like mixing it up a bit and use coconut instead of nuts and oats. Yum!

Found an awesome recipe which had lots of positive reviews from Recipezaar. This recipe turned out perfect, moist, and simply delectable!

Ingredients (yields 8 muffins)

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Direction:

• Preheat oven to 375°/180. Line muffin cups with paper muffin liners.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together bananas, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and 1/2 cup coconut in a large bowl until combined well, then fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened.Divide batter among lined muffin cups and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup coconut.
• Bake until muffins are puffed and golden, about 25 minutes.
• Transfer muffins to a rack and cool slightly.

Happy Valentines Day & Happy New Year (Tiger)!

Have a Happy Valentines Day!

Easy Peasy, yummylicious Vanilla Cupcakes

Having experimented with different variations of vanilla cupcakes, I came across this 'Simple white cake' recipe from allrecipes.com which had well over 750 reviews, all which were positive. It's also a recipe that is easily adaptable for cupcakes and different flavour experimentation too. I'm mid baking at the moment so well see how they turn out, i'm hoping to go for light, fluffy and not too dense. There's nothing worse than a dense tasting cupcake that's feel heavy. I noticed that in some UK 'fairy cake' recipes they don't use milk, which i think is the magic ingredient.

Recipe by Scottosman on Allrecipes.com

Ingredients (makes 12 cupcakes)

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

Quick buttercream recipe from Allrecipes
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 3 drops food coloring, or as needed (optional)

Directions

1. Cream room temperature butter with a hand mixer, the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, or a wooden spoon until smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until fully incorporated. Beat in vanilla extract.
2. Pour in milk and beat for an additional 3-4 minutes. Add food coloring, if using, and beat for thirty seconds until smooth or until desired color is reached.

Mouthwatering, tasty goodness @ Paradise Catering

Rollo with fresh almond - vegan sweet Lenten treats!

Skaltsounia (Σκαλτσούνια) - perfect traditional Greek sweetness for Lent. It's super scrumptious little roll filled with what reminds me of mince pies and is covered in icing sugar, so you gotta love this!

Mini Greek style Brownies & chocolate cream!

Greek sweet orange pie

Chocolate pie! Bring on the ice-cream!

Valentines Cakes: Part 2

Τούρτα Αγίου Βαλεντίνου - Valentines Day Cake part 1

We've been doing a series of cake hats lately - it seems this is what they want here, so in the lead upto Valentines day, here is a krema chocolada capello with fondant icing.

More Valentine's Day tourtes to follow on Thursday!

Buttercream baby!

Buttercream is simply the essence that makes a cake what it is, be it cupcake or any kinda cake. I remember stuffing my face with Walnut layer cake as a kid, which had 2 layers of buttercream. I would only buy the cake if it was substantially and sufficiently loaded with the stuff!

I've got a load of cupcakes that will need to be lathered in buttercream in the upcoming weeks, so i've pulled some recipes i've found on Martha Stewarts website amongst a few other top foodie sites.

Billy Reece of Billy's Bakery in Manhattan's recipe for Vanilla Buttercream

Makes enough for 30 cupcakes

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired consistency.

Betty Crockers Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe

3	cups powdered sugar
1/3	cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2	teaspoons vanilla
1-2	tablespoons milk

In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk.

Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar. Frosts 13x9-inch cake generously, or fills and frosts an 8- or 9-inch two-layer cake. Browned Butter Buttercream Frosting: In 1-quart saucepan, heat 1/3 cup butter (do not use margarine or spreads) over medium heat just until light brown. Watch carefully because butter can brown and then burn quickly. Cool butter. Use browned butter instead of softened butter in recipe. Lemon Buttercream Frosting: Omit vanilla. Substitute lemon juice for the milk. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel. Maple-Nut Buttercream Frosting: Omit vanilla. Substitute 1/2 cup maple-flavored syrup for the milk. Stir in 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts. Orange Buttercream Frosting: Omit vanilla. Substitute orange juice for the milk. Stir in 2 teaspoons grated orange peel. Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting: Substitute peanut butter for the butter. Increase milk to 1/4 cup, adding more if necessary, a few drops at a time.

Ooh, so many flavours, so much experimentation!

Clean Monday: Καθαρή Δευτέρα

Clean Monday (aka Ash Monday) is a quite an annual food event in the Greek calendar; no meat is cooked on this day as it's the beginning of Lent among Orthodox Christians. This is also a day where copius amounts of shellfish is consumed and need I say more about Ouzo???
For the next 40 days/7wks, the devout abstain from meat and dairy products (or anything that derives from animals with red blood; no milk, cheese, eggs, yoghurt etc - wow this is going to be hard), until Easter Day as the body & Spirit is cleansed of impurities and prepared for the Resurrection. Most Greeks nowadays tend to fast according to their own variation of the rules: some people abstain from meat and dairy products on Wednesdays and Fridays (which have religious significance in the Greek Orthodox Church), others abstain from meat the whole week except for Sunday, while others may give up milk in their coffee, and some only fast during Holy week (Megali evthomatha).

I have no idea what the menu for this day is, but so far the most popular dishes from my recce on the web are:

Taramosalata - Fish Roe (ταραμοσαλάτα)
Flame Grilled Octopus (χταπόδι στη σχάρα) - or cooked in a wine sauce
I'll be washing mine down with vast quantities of tsipouro
Calamari - my favourite, with lashings of fresh lemon juice
Gigandes Beans/Fasolada
Pickled Cauliflower and Carrots
Lagana Flatbread

Valentine's day ideas

Here are some divine inspiration to kick off this month from Bakerella, flickr, Cupcakes take the cake & The Scootabaker! Enjoy!
I came across TheScootabaker who had some awesome ideas for V-day cupcakes, i think i'll be having a go at making a selection of vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with strawberry buttercream heart fillings, then perhaps attempt making some filligree style choc hearts to put on top of the buttercream with heart shaped sprinkles. Yum






I found a great recipe for the chocolate cupcake from Joy of Baking which i'll be using again as it's dead easy. The cupcakes turned out moist and also quite light and spongy... but maybe not enough chocolate for my man's liking so may have to add more chocolate.

Chocolate Cupcakes:

1/2 cup (50 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 cup (240 ml) boiling hot water

1 1/3 cups (175 grams) all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly butter, or line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling hot water and the cocoa powder. Let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated. Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16-20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or if piping, use a large Wilton 1M open star tip to make lovely swirls.