Easy baking

&

Family meals

By

Mr Trevor

&

Mr Oussama

Ingredients Base ingredients

• 6 eggplants • vegetable oil (for frying the eggplants)

For the meat sauce

• 750g beef or lamb mince • 2 red onions (chopped) • 2 cloves of garlic (chopped) • 1 tin chopped tomatoes • 2 tbsp tomato puree • 1 teaspoon sugar • 1 glass of red wine • Pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper • 1 bay leaf • A pinch of cinnamon or one cinnamon stick • 1/4 of a cup olive oil

For the bechamel sauce

• 900ml milk • 120g butter • 120g flour • a pinch of nutmeg • 2 egg yolks • 100g Parmigiano-Reggiano

Moussaka

This dish is a legend! Creamy, juicy and absolutely delicious.

Instructions 1. To prepare this Greek moussaka recipe, begin by preparing the

eggplants. Remove the stalks from the eggplants and cut them into slices, 1 cm thick. Season with salt and place in a colander for about half an hour.

2. Rinse the eggplants with plenty of water and squeeze with your hands, to get rid of the excessive water. Pat them dry and fry in plenty of oil, until nicely colored. Place the fried eggplants on some paper, in order to absorb the oil. (For a lighter version of the traditional Greek moussaka try drizzling the aubergines with some olive oil and bake them for 20 minutes instead of frying them).

3. Prepare the meat sauce for the moussaka. Heat a large pan to medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the chopped onions and sauté, until softened and slightly colored. Stir in the garlic, tomato puree and the mince breaking it up with a wooden spoon and sauté. Pour in the red wine and wait to evaporate. Add the tinned tomatoes, the sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, 1 bay leaf and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes, until most of the juices have evaporated.

4. Prepare the béchamel sauce for the moussaka. Use a large pan to melt some butter over low-medium heat. Add the flour whisking continuously to make a paste. Add warmed milk in a steady stream; keep whisking in order to prevent your sauce from getting lumpy. If the sauce still needs to thicken, boil over low heat while continuing to stir.

5. Remove the pan from the stove and stir in the egg yolks, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and the grated cheese. Whisk quickly, in order to prevent the eggs from turning an omelette!

6. Assemble the moussaka. For this moussaka recipe you will need a large baking dish, approx. 20*30 cm). Butter the bottom and sides of the pan and layer the eggplants. Pour in the meat sauce and even out. Add a second layer of eggplants, top with the béchamel sauce and smooth out with a spatula.

7. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake the musaka in preheated oven at 180-200C for about 60 minutes, until crust turns light golden brown. Even though it will be really hard.. you should wait for the moussaka to cool down for a while before cutting into pieces.

CHAPTER 1

Etiam Sit Amet Est Donec Maecenas

Koulourakia biscuit Ingredients

• 250g butter (8.8 oz.) • 1 1/2 cup sugar • 1/2 cup lukewarm milk • 4 medium eggs • 1 tbsp vanilla extract • zest of 2 oranges • 1kg all-purpose flour (35 oz.) • 2 egg yolks and 1 tbsp water for glazing the koulourakia

Instructions 1. To prepare this traditional koulourakia recipe, start by mixing the butter and

sugar. In a mixer’s bowl add the sugar and butter (chopped) and mix for about 10-15 minutes, until the butter is creamy and fluffy. (Once starting to prepare this koulourakia recipe, make sure that the butter is at room temperature).

2. In the meantime warm the milk until lukewarm and remove the pot from the heat. Set aside.

3. Add the eggs (in the butter-sugar) mixture one at a time, whilst mixing, allowing time for each one to be absorbed, before adding another. Pour in the the vanilla extract, the orange zest, milk and mix to combine. Add the flour, a little bit at a time, whilst mixing, until the ingredients are combined and the dough is soft and not too sticky.

4. Cover the dough for the koulourakia with some plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 20 minutes.

5. Place the dough for the koulourakia on a clean working surface, take a small piece of dough and form long cords. Shape the koulourakia with your hands, giving them any shape you like. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and place the koulourakia, leaving some distance between them as they will rise a lot when baked. (For this koulourakia recipe, you will need approx. 4-5 large baking trays, depending on the size of the cookies)

6. In a small bowl add the egg yolks and 1 tbsp water and whisk with a fork. Brush the top of the koulourakia and bake in preheated oven at 200C for 15 minutes, until nicely coloured.

A basic recipe for fresh egg pasta

Ingredients • 6 large free-range eggs • 600 g Plain flour

Method 1. Place the flour on a board or in a bowl. Make a well in the

centre and crack the eggs into it. Beat the eggs with a fork until smooth.

2. Using the tips of your fingers, mix the eggs with the flour, incorporating a little at a time, until everything is combined.

3. Knead the pieces of dough together – with a bit of work and some love and attention they’ll all bind together to give you one big, smooth lump of dough!

4. Once you’ve made your dough you need to knead and work it with your hands to develop the gluten in the flour, otherwise your pasta will be flabby and soft when you cook it, instead of springy and al dente.

5. There’s no secret to kneading. You just have to bash the dough about a bit with your hands, squashing it into the table, reshaping it, pulling it, stretching it, squashing it again. It’s quite hard work, and after a few minutes it’s easy to see why the average Italian grandmother has arms like Frank Bruno! You’ll know when to stop – it’s when your pasta starts to feel smooth and silky instead of rough and floury.

6. Then all you need to do is wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge to rest for at least half an hour before you use it. Make sure the cling film covers it well or it will dry out and go crusty round the edges (this will give you crusty lumps through your pasta when you roll it out, and nobody likes crusty lumps!)

1. How to roll your pasta: 2. First of all, if you haven't got a pasta machine it's not the

end of the world! All the mammas I met while travelling round Italy rolled pasta with their trusty rolling pins and they wouldn't even consider having a pasta machine in the house! When it comes to rolling, the main problem you'll have is getting the pasta thin enough to work with. It's quite difficult to get a big lump of dough rolled out in one piece, and you need a very long rolling pin to do the job properly. The way around this is to roll lots of small pieces of pasta rather than a few big ones. You'll be rolling your pasta into a more circular shape than the long rectangular shapes you'll get from a machine, but use your head and you'll be all right!.

3. , Whether you're rolling by hand or by machine you'll need to know when to stop. If you're making pasta like tagliatelle, lasagne or stracchi you'll need to roll the pasta down to between the thickness of a a playing card; if you're making a stuffed pasta like ravioli or tortellini, you'll need to roll it down slightly thinner or to the point where you can clearly see your hand or lines of newsprint through it.

4. Once you've rolled your pasta the way you want it, you need to shape or cut it straight away. Pasta dries much quicker than you think, so whatever recipe you're doing, don't leave it more than a minute or two before cutting or shaping it. You can lay over a damp clean tea towel which will stop it from drying.

Ingredients

Orange butterfly cakes

Ingredients • 100g/3½oz baking spread or butter • 100g/3½oz. Sugar • 2 large free-range eggs • 100g/3½oz flour • 2 level tsp baking powder • 1 orange, grated zest only

For the icing • 50g/1¾oz soft butter • 100g/3½oz sifted

icing sugar

Method 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. 2. Put all the cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat well for 2-

3 minutes, or until the mixture is well-blended and smooth. Fill each paper case with about 35g/1¼oz of mixture.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and golden-brown. Lift the paper cases out of the bun tin and cool the cakes on a wire rack.

4. When cool, cut a disc from the top of each cake leaving a little gap around the edge and cut this slice in half.

5. To make the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together until well blended. Pipe or spoon a swirl of buttercream on top and place the half slices of cake on top to resemble butterfly wings. Dust the cakes with icing sugar to finish.

* you can choose to leave out the orange zest in the cake and then use jam of your choice with the icing

Roasted vegetable quiche

Ingredients For the pastry • 225g/8oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting • 175g/6oz cold butter, cubed • 1 free-range egg, beaten

For the filling • 2 onions, quartered, then halve each quarter lenghtways • 200g/7oz baby courgettes, halved lengthways • 1 aubergine , cut in half then in to quarters. • 260g/9½oz spinach • 1-2 tbsp olive oil • 300ml/10fl oz double cream • 4 free-range eggs • 180g/6½oz gruyère cheese (or vegetarian alternative),

grated • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Put the flour and butter in a food processor and pulse until they take on the texture of bread crumbs. (Or place in a mixing bowl and rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips). Add the egg and 1 tablespoon cold water and pulse until combined and a dough forms (or mix by hand).

2. Roll the dough on a lightly floured, cold work surface into a circle large enough to line the tart tin and roughly 3mm thick, leaving a generous edge to allow for shrinking in the oven. Lay the pastry in the tin and push it gently into the corners where the base meets the sides. Prick the base and sides of the pastry with a fork and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. 4. Line the chilled pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and paper

and put the pastry case back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. 5. Increase the oven temperature to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. 6. Put the onions , aubergine and courgettes in a large sandwich bag, drizzle with olive oil and season generously with

salt and pepper and shake the bag to coat. Tip onto a large baking tray. Roast for 30–40 minutes, turning the vegetables over halfway through cooking, until tender and golden-brown. Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/160C/Gas 4.

7. Meanwhile, bring a small amount of water to the boil in a wide lidded pan. Once boiling add the spinach, clamp down the lid and turn off the heat. After 5 minutes, drain the spinach and leave to cool. Gather the spinach into a ball and using a clean tea towel squeeze as much water out as possible. Once the spinach is as dry as you can get place it on a chopping board and roughly chop. Whisk together the cream, eggs and half the cheese and season well with salt and pepper.

8. Once the vegetables are roasted you are ready to assemble the quiche. Sprinkle the remaining cheese onto the base of the pastry case. Pile in the vegetables, spreading them out so that they are evenly distributed, and pour over the cream mixture.

9. Bake the quiche for 25–35 minutes or until the filling is set and golden-brown on top. Take out of the oven and leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin and transferring to a serving plate. Serve warm.

INGREDIENTS • 225g (8 oz) flour • 2 teaspoons baking powder • 150 g (5 oz) sugar • 50 g (2 oz) walnut pieces, chopped • 100g (4 oz) carrots, coarsely grated • 2 ripe bananas, mashed • 2 eggs • 150 ml (5 fl oz) sunflower oil

FOR THE TOPPING • 250g (9 oz) tub mascarpone cheese • 2-3 teaspoons vanilla extract • 2 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted • about 25g (1 oz) walnut pieces, chopped

CARROT CAKE

1. Lightly grease a 20 cm (8 inch) deep round cake tin and line the base with a circle of non-stick baking parchment. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Measure all of the ingredients for the cake into a large bowl and mix well until thoroughly blended, an electric mixer is best for this but of course you can also beat by hand with a wooden spoon. Turn the mixture into the prepared cake tin and gently level the surface.

3. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 50-60 minutes or until the cake is well risen, golden and beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tin. A fine skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then loosen the sides of the cake from the tin with a small palette knife or blunt knife, turn the cake out and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

4. For the topping, mix the mascarpone cheese in a small bowl with the vanilla extract and the sieved icing sugar. Spread evenly over the top of the cake and scatter the chopped walnuts on top. Store in the refrigerator.