Well, its September already…. the schools are full of smart shinny shoed looking kids again (at least for the first week of term anyway) And I can finally sit down with a nice cup of tea and write about my first love …FOOD!
I am sorry my foodie posts have been so thin on the ground of late, but my time keeping and life organizing skills as usual in the school hols has gone completely to pot!
I have been reading about food though, I was hoping the “reading” about it would stop the “eating” it, kind of stupid! Once you’ve read em, you have to cook from them..and then you have to eat it…just wouldn’t be right no to! right?! …
Anyway, I bought a box full of beautiful cook books by the amazingly talented Tessa Kiros (thank you to twitter pals for the tip off 
Her books are really like pieces of art, the photos are so beautiful and the text in between reads like a really great novel. Allot of her recipes and writing comes from her family history, but also from her travels. And she got me to thinking of all the fabulous foods I have tried in different far away places.
So in honor of Mrs Kiros and also to keep my own memories alive this months foodie blogs are dedicated to great travels and amazing food! I hope you’ll come along on the journey and if you’d like to add any of your own favourite foodie travels that would be great!
First stop is Kefalonia, Greece. Me and big j went without the kids a few years ago and it was literally love at first sight. We have been back several times and even though we’ve tried other places in between, nowhere comes close to its perfectness.
It not only looks like paradise but feels strangely like home. I love it so much that one day that’s where I want to be. Riding around the sun drenched island in a bikini on a banged up old scooter. Stopping every once in a while to dip into the crystal blue sea. (I will obvs be the size of a stick insect as I will live on fresh fruit and Greek honey, so therefor will look fabulous in said bikini ) Ahh..bliss..I know life isn’t really like that is it? ..but maybe, just maybe it could be! ( ever the dreamer;))
So anyway, here are two of the most famous things I tried and loved in Greece. Both fairly easy to rustle up, if a little time consuming. But if on a lazy Saturday afternoon you fancy having a potter around the kitchen and making something really special I highly recommend it! The main dish freezes really well too, so if your an organised type (unlike myself) you could bung some in the freezer too!
First course, Moussaka! This one’s based on a Gorden Ramsey one but with a few changes from me. Most noticeably is the lack of minced lamb, but if you want to add it back just fry it at the beginning with the onion and garlic. Have got to say though this veggie version is really worth a go.
Veggie Moussaka
- 3-4 tbs olive oil, plus extra for brushing
- 3 large onions
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped up finely
- 200ml of red wine or vegetable stock
- 5 tbsp of tomato puree
- 2 x 400g tins of chopped plum tomatoes
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 a teaspoon of all spice
- 1 tee-spoon of oregano
- 2 large-ish aubergine
- 250g of cooked lentils, I like the really tiny green ones
For the cheese sauce
- 75g of butter
- 75g of plain flour
- 600ml of whole milk
- 150g of grated cheddar cheese (not authentic I know, but really adds to the flavour)
- 1 large egg beaten
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions and garlic until soft and lightly brown. Pour in the wine or stock and let it bubble until almost evaporated. Then add the tomato puree, toms, cinnamon, allspice and oregano. Add the little lentils and simmer for a good half an hour.
In the mean time, slice the aubergines into slices around 1.3 cms thick. Brush them well with good olive oil and sprinkle them with sea salt and pepper. Place them in a frying pan over a high heat and brown on both sides. You will need to this in little batches.
Preheat the oven to 220′oc or gas make 6. And start making the sauce. Melt the butter in the pan and add the flour, Cook off for a few mins. Lower the heat slightly and whisk in the milk. Very slowly, a little bit at a time. Allow it to simmer gently for around 10 mins then stir in three quarters of the cheese and add some seasoning. remove from heat, and when cooled slightly add the beaten egg to make a silky sauce.
Now all you need to do is arrange it all and cook! Just place a layer of aubergines on the base of your dish, and add a layer of the tomato sauce. Then spoon over a half the cheese sauce. And then repeat until you end up with a layer of cheese sauce on top.Bake for around 40mins until golden brown and bubbling, then wait five min’s and serve.
Time for pudding!
Baklava with Nuts & Dried Apricots
Syrup
- 80g sugar
- 2 tablespoons of runny honey
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 3 cloves
- juice of half a lemon
- 6 sheets of filo pastry
- 150g of butter, melted
- 125g of really good dried apricots (sainsbury’s taste the difference ones are yum)
- 40g whole almonds, roughly chopped
- 40g unsalted pistachio nuts (skinned ones) roughly chopped
- 1 egg white
- 30g caster sugar
- a few drops of vanilla essence
First make the syrup, add all the ingredients to a pan along with 185ml of water. Bring to boil for about five min’s until its thickened slightly. Leave to cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 180′oc gas mark 4. Lay out a sheet of filo on a work surface and brush generously with melted butter. Repeat with another 2 sheets of filo and brushed melted butter, brushing the top with butter. Cut the filo lengthways so you have 4 equal strips. Repeat the whole process with the remaining filo sheets until you have 8 strips in total.
Put the apricots and nuts into a food processor and blitz to moist rough paste. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, then add the sugar and vanilla. Continue whisking (even if your arm hurts;) until stiff and creamy.
Now the fun part!…Take a tablespoon of the apricot nutty mixture and press onto one half of the strip then put a teaspoon a egg white on top. Then fold the bottom half of the pastry over the filling. turn in both sides, pressing down all the way up the length. Then roll up to make a neat package and seal in the filling. Repeat with all eight pieces (they don’t have to be perfect). Place on a baking sheet lined with greased parchment paper and brush liberally with remaining butter. Cook in oven for about 20 mins or until golden brown. Cut each one into 3 or 4 with a sharp knife, arrange on a plate and pour the syrup liberally over them, adorn with a few jewel green pistachios… serve warm with ice cream, or how I like them best, cold from the fridge with a hot sweet coffee. So So GOOD!
This Recipe is from Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros, thank mrs!
