For today, here is one of my latest moussaka – roasted pepper and amaranth moussaka.
If you still haven’t noticed moussaka is one of my favourite dishes. It is easy to make and there are plenty of combinations. It could be a vegetarian dish, too. You can add rice (or any grains) and the meat you like. In the end, you can just beat a few eggs with any cheese leftovers, sourcream or oat cream, pour it over, put into the oven and there you go.
My favourite thing about it is that it always looks golden brown and it smells so good. If you already have peeled roasted pepper, then half job is done.
Now the only thing you need is to saute some onions, add salt and the spices you like. When the onion is nicely glazed add garlic and mincemeat. In a separate pan fry the amaranth for about 10min, drain well and add to the mixture. You might need to season the mixture again.
In a bowl beat 4 eggs, salt and the cream you have chosen. You can use just milk as well.
Now it’s time for layering. Slightly oil the baking tray. Lay pepper, then mince mixture. I had some white sheep cheese so I’ve just sprinkled some over it. Then pour 1/3 of the egg mixture. Repeat the layers. Finish with pepper.
To finish it off – a simple crumble for the top. My kids say this is the best part. Melt some butter and stir in breadcrumbs ( I use a gluten-free option). Sprinkle generously over the mousaka.
Bake covered in the preheated oven at 200°C for a half an hour, then remove the cover and let the crumble become a lovely golden brown colour.
You can make it a few hours before, just switch the oven off and leave the mousaka inside. It will stay nicely warm. Serve with salad or greek yogurt.
I invite you to make your combination of this lovely dish.
You can message me with how it turned out.
Can’t wait to share tips with you.🥰
It might looks like mud, but in fact this nettle soup is very tasty and healthy above all.
If you can get some freshly picked young nettle leaves don’t miss the chance to make this soup.
Start by frying some onion olive oil. Add salt and spices you like. Nettle has strong taste and it goes well with spices such as turmeric and paprika. Stir well, let it fry for a minute and add blanched nettle leaves. Stir, pour over beef stock and cook for about 20-30 minutes ( depends how young the leaves you’ve got are). Remove the pot from the heat. Use a stick blender to puree the soup. Return to the heat, season to taste and add rice/oat milk or fresh cream.
Note to be careful, fresh nettle leaves sting , although it is believed to be good for rheumatism.
I prefer to wear gloves, but you can try without them if you want😉.
Recipe for salmon trout burgers was inspired by one of Jamie Oliver’s. I have changed a few things to adjust it to the likings of my family.
I used salmon trout which can be a good and more cost-effective replacement for salmon. Also if you aren’t able to buy wild salmon, it’s much better to buy some local fresh fish.
Chop the fish into small chunks (pea-sized) and season well with salt and pepper. Add grated ginger, a finely cut red onion, spring onions and plenty of lemon zest. Make sure you have kept the lemon in cold water for some time before using it. Mix well and make 2cm thick patties. Fry them on medium-high heat for 2 minutes each side, or until nicely golden.
They match fantastically with chilly jam. You can serve it separately, or add to the pan just when you’re almost done with frying. As a side dish, I made boiled potatoes, gilded a little bit on butter, and boiled chard (boil it for only 3 minutes in salted water and drain well).
Kids love those salmon trout burgers. Ginger and lemon zest give that refreshing note if you use the kind of fatty fish. You can make them in 5 minutes. You can boil the potatoes a few hours before and then just give them a butter glaze for a few minutes.
If you like chard try to make my chard and quinoa moussaka as well 🙂
Chilled beetroot soup – made with love ♥
Here is another lovely creamy soup for you that can be eaten cold or warm. As beetroot’s available all the year-round, the making process is the same. When the cooking is done, just choose to put it straight on the table, or in the fridge to chill.
As for the majority of cream soups, start by frying roughly chopped onion (red ones if available) on some olive oil. My granny taught me always to salt the onions and believe me, you can taste the difference. When the onion is nice and glassy, add roughly chopped beetroot (washed and peeled). Stir for a few minutes, pour in soup stock to cover the veggies. Bring to the boil slowly, and let it simmer for 30 minutes, or until the beetroot is soft. Add seasoning, pepper, garlic powder and extra salt if needed. Leave it to cool until lukewarm.
Blend the soup with a stick blender or in the food processor. Put in the fridge to cool completely overnight. My family loves the combination of beetroot and Greek yogurt, but that’s just our preferred way of eating it.
Love is … when your family says that no one makes it better than you. Make this beautiful chilled beetroot soup with care for your loved ones.
This nutty dried fruit tart is easy to make, with nearly no added sugar. This is something you can prepare any time, as dried fruits you can have in the fridge all over the year.
If you do not have your favourite tart pastry recipe here is mine:
300gr of flour
200gr of butter
100gr of sugar (or replace it with 4 dry dates)
1 egg
1tbs of yogurt or white wine
Vanilla extract
Collect all together with one hand and knead lightly for few seconds to give a smooth, firm dough. Put the dough into plastic bag or wrap in the cling film. Refrigerate for 15min, or up to 2 days. You can put in the freezer and keep it up to 6 months. Roll the dough with the rolling pin using two sheets of baking paper (to avoid flour all over the kitchen). Transfer it to the tart dish.
This recipe require to bake tart case “blind”- without a filling. Put one of those sheets you just used to roll the pastry on top of it. Fill it with uncooked dried beans (I use the same ones for years). Bake it for 15 minutes on 200°C, then remove the beans and paper and bake for extra 10 minutes.
For the filling you need:
500gr of dried fruits (this time I put 300gr of prunes and 200gr of apricots), roughly cut
Put the fruits in a saucepan with 800ml water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add cinnamon and grated lemon/orange rind if you like. Blend 1 sachet of custard powder (or 45ml of corn flour) with 200ml of cold water. Stir into the simmering fruit mixture. Cook, stirring for two minutes and spoon the filling into the pastry. If you prefer you can add few drops of essential oil of your choice (lemon, orange, clove …)
To make it nutty sprinkle your nutty dried fruit tart with toasted grounded hazelnuts (or any other kind for nuts you like).
Serve with fresh cream, or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy 🙂
Creamy rice pudding is what I call comfort food, nostalgic value and simple preparation.
And the smell of milk cooking is something that makes you feel cozy instantly.
Melt 1 tbsp. of butter in a saucepan. Add 1 tbsp. of brown sugar, vanilla essence and 1 tsp. of cinnamon. Stir for a minute, add 100ml of rice (for the best result use white thick rice). Stir again for a minute, add about 50ml of water, and keep stirring until it starts evaporating. Then add 500ml of lukewarm milk (or at least room temperature). Lower the heat and cook for another 20 minutes, stirring form time to time.
Pour the creamy rice pudding into bowls and grate dark chocolate on top.
You can prepare it the evening before and have a ready-steady breakfast when you open your eyes in the morning.
Good day to you 🙂
See the coconut milk rice recipe
Here we go again lovely people, Monday morning, no time, everyone in a hurry and you do need to prepare a lunch box.
Calm down, breathe and open the fridge. I am sure you have some leftovers from Sunday’s lunch. You can make this couscous with grilled vegetables and meat just in 5 minutes.
Easy-peasy, as kids say, 5 minute job.
Put the veggies in the pan to reheat them. Add couscous, some liquid (stock is the best solution, if you don’t have just water will do too), salt and few drops of oil. Follow the instructions from the package – put exact amount of liquid .When ready, stir in one nice tbsp of butter, to get the silky structure and add a bit more of a taste.
Slice the meat from Sunday’s lunch, place it on top, sprinkle with your kid’s favourite cheese, or use dry barberries as I did (most kids love dry fruits).
Well done, now you can give the lunch boxes filled with this yummy couscous with grilled vegetables and meat for your kids. Kiss them goodbye and go on about your day 🙂
Well, well, here we are with one of the most adaptable dishes ever. You will love making quiches, because you can use basically anything you have in your fridge. Today let’s make a broccoli and sweet potato quiche.
The first thing you need is basic dough. It takes only 5 minutes to make, it can be stored in the freezer or in the fridge.
So my favourite recipe is:
80gr of softened butter.
210 gr of flour (I like to mix 2-3 different ones)
1 egg
1 tbsp of yogurt
Salt and spices of your own choice
Just mix flour and butter, then add an egg and yogurt and make the dough. Ideally leave it in the fridge for a half an hour.
Roll it using two sheets of baking paper. Put the dough in between and simply roll it with a rolling pin to the size of you dish.
Now, what I did with the food I had in my fridge – half of sweet potato, just peel it, slice it and put in the oven for 10 min- to soften. Lay the slices on the pastry, then arrange the broccoli pieces. In a bowl mix 200 gr of white cheese, 4 eggs, salt, pepper and spices of your choice (turmeric and garlic powder are my favorite) . If you’ve got the means, add slightly fried bacon cubes. Pour it over the broccoli, put in the preheated oven at 200°C for 10 min, then lower to 180°C for extra 20 minutes or until it’s golden brown.
And here you have it, a broccoli and sweet potato quiche. Looks nice in a lunch box as well, doesn’t it?
Bon appétit 🙂
Chard and quinoa moussaka is one of my family’s favourite spring meals. You will love it because you can make it quickly, it’s healthy, tasty and leaves you full.
If you love moussaka, you will adore this version, too. Instead of chard, you can use any leaves such as spinach and vine leaves.
Let’s start. Do as you usually would when preparing meat filling. Heat the olive oil, saute the onions, add salt, and then add garlic. After a few minutes add spices of your choice. This time I used cumin, paprika, and cinnamon. Add the minced meat (800gr for 4 people). Break everything up with a wooden spoon and turn the heat up a little. Fry until all liquid evaporates and it starts to turn lightly brown. In the meantime, boil 1 cup of quinoa for 7 minutes. Add to the meat filling and season generously if needed.
Pour boiling water onto previously washed leaves. Oil the baking dish, layer 1/3 of blanched chard, then half of the mince mixture. Repeat once more, and finish with the leaves on top. Cover with aluminium foil, and put into the preheated oven at 200°C. Bake for 45min.
Here you go, your perfect moussaka, easy way to get kids eating quinoa. Best served with a spoon of Greek yogurt or as we do with sheep’s yogurt.
And most important – it’s easy to pack and give your kids to bring it to school for lunch, it can be made the day before. In the morning just slice chard and quinoa moussaka, transfer into the box and kiss your kids goodbye wishing them a nice day.
You have only an hour to make a nice family dish. Do not worry, risotto is always something you can prepare. This time I added a little bit of oriental taste to Italian dish – and it turned great. Of course you can always make your own combination. This recipe allows you to omit anything you do not like or you do not have at home.
The best thing if you have some time to cut marinade small pieces of chicken breasts small pieces in mustard. If not, just massage the mustard in the meat and it will do fine. Fry them on the olive oil until get nice and golden. Take it out of the pan and let them wait you comfortably wrapped in an alufoil.
Add the onion in the pan, season with salt and add the spices of your choice (I put sweet curry, turmeric, cumin, garlic powder, pepper, ginger powder). Add rice (100ml per person) – this time I have mixed long grain red and white rice. Stir it well, add finely chopped dry apricots (you can replace them with any dry fruit), and continue cooking while adding stock. Mind you for some rice you will need 45min of cooking, while for some other 15-20minutes will be enough (read the labels, please).
When rice is cooked, return the chicken to the dish, add some Worchester sauce and taste if it is OK for you. Remove the pan from the heat, add 1 knob of butter and stir well. Cover and allow to sit for 2 minutes – this is the very important, as this is when it becomes creamy and cool a little bit before adding citruses. Final touch –add just few drops of lemon essential oil, or squeeze of real lemon. Serve with fresh mixed green salad, or cherry tomatoes. And guess what- can be easily packed in the lunch box.