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Because I'm a nuff nuff and had an extreme weekend of cooking, I stupidly formated my memory card before my Christmas luncheon which contained prized photos of my moussaka that I made for this week's cooking challenge. The best I could do was scan the photo from the book, so this is what is kinda looked like:

How could I not cook from one of George's books for Greek week?
Hamsley will often blurt out "Moooooooosaka"... so I though I'd shut him up and make moussaka.
What a weekend to make it on though, I have never spent as much time in the kitchen as I did this past weekend. Saturday night my ankles were throbbing due to all the preparation for the annual Christmas luncheon with my friends. A post to come on that soon... if I don't format my memory card again by accident!

The moussaka was relatively easy to make. The recipe was set out very simply, step by step; so I was never lost on what I should be doing. It was my first attempt at making a béchamel sauce, and man it was an effort; lots and lots of stirring. My arms were a little more buffed after my béchamel work out.

The easiest way to describe moussaka is, it's a Greek lasagna. Instead of pasta, you have eggplant and potato. We all thought this recipe could have used more meat, but the overall flavour was delicious. You could definitely taste the cinnamon, and the other herbs. A real comfort food / wintery dish.

Moussaka
George Calombaris

1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely dice
1 tablespoon lemon thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
300g (10 1/2oz) lamb mince
100g (3 1/2oz) pork mince
100g (3 1/2oz) veal mince
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cinnamon quills
250g (1 3/4oz) crushed tomatoes
Salt, to taste
2 eggplants (aubergine), sliced 1cm (1/2 inch) thick
3 medium-sized potatoes, sliced 1cm (1/2 inch) thick

Béchamel
100g (3 1/2oz) butter
100g (3 1/2oz) flour
600ml (25fl oz) milk
3 eggs, beaten
100g (3 1/2oz) grated keflagraniera cheese (I just used tasty cheese)

Meat Sauce:
1. Saute diced onion, garlic, lemon thyme and rosemary until soft, add all mince and brown.
2. Add tomato paste, cinnamon quills and crused tomatoes reduce to a low heat and simmer for 1 hour. Season to taste.
3. Brush eggplant and potatoes with olive oil and either grill on barbecue or pan fry until tender. (I just grilled mine under the grill).

Béchamel:
1. Melt butter in a heavy based saucepan.
2. Add flour, stir on a low heat for 2 minutes.
3. Slowly add warm milk, continuously stirring until thick. Cover with lid and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
4. Whisk in beaten eggs and keflagraniera cheese, season to taste.


Assemble:
1. Oil casserole dish and lay eggplant over bottom. Then add a layer of meat sauce. Arrange potato slices over meat sauce then over with the béchamel.
2. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes at 200°C (400°F, Gas Mark 6) until golden brown and béchamel has set.

Serves 4.

Voila! Bon Appétit!

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For those of us following Masterchef in Australia, you would have been familiar with the "Guess the ingredients in the bolognaise" challenge where the vegetarian cook cried because she didn't want to have to taste it to guess what was in it.

There were 17 ingredients they had to guess, by both smelling and tasting the sauce. Once all the ingredients were revealed, there were some things I would have never considered putting in a bolognaise sauce. I've been hanging out to try it since I saw it, and I finally made time to make it.
I also made a tarte tatin that was in one of the pressure test challenges, so I had a very Masterchef inspired night! Photos of that in my next post!

It is definitely a more interesting sauce than what I'm used to. We could all pick up different flavours. For me the cinnamon stood out, for my mum she could really pick the bayleaf, for Rob, it was more the cloves. I should have added more nutmeg, but overall it was quite a lovely sauce.

George Calombaris' "Best Bolognaise Sauce"
An adaption by "Stephsmail" on the Masterchef forums (Thank you!)

a good splash of olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
300g minced beef
300g minced pork
300g minced veal
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 cups white wine
2 heaped teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 heaped teaspoons ground cinnamon
5 bayleaves
5 cloves
425g tin crushed tomatoes
200g tomato paste
salt to taste
pepper to taste

1. Put olive oil in a large hot saucepan. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes.

2. Add the beef, pork and veal and cook until browned. Add the carrots and celery. Add the white wine.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer over a low heat for as long as possible.
I left mine over night off the heat to develop more flavour, and slow cooked it for about 2 hours before serving.

Serves 5.

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