Cooking: A week with AH2 - Page 2

Glaucus · 10-02-2009, 02:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostkat

OMG HOOOOW much fat??? I've just done a double take at the mousakka fat content. I knew it was high, but jesus christ!

Why is it always the nice food??

Oil check
butter check
cheese check
fatty lamb check

Everythings fine in moderation. Even though I suggest 3 servings. I only had a 1/4. But then I am trying to lose massive amounts of weight.

lostkat · 10-02-2009, 08:53

Just trying to think how I could reduce the fat a little:
- Use marg instead of butter in white sauce. I always do that anyway as it's easier to scoop out of the tub.
- Drain off the oil once you've fried the lamb. I actually always fry the meat first and then use the fat to cook the onions/garlic etc. ,so you don't need the oil. I can't say that I've noticed it makes any difference, especially if you're cooking it down for 20+ mins.
- Use maybe feta instead of cheddar? Marginally less fat and I love feta. I disagree with low fat cheddar as it tastes like nothing, so I'd never stoop to that level!

Hmmmm, wonder how much difference it'd actually make though

Jonny69 · 10-02-2009, 10:16

Well you can half the butter in the white sauce for a start, you don't need anywhere near that much. If you want cheesy taste then use extra mature cheddar and less of it. Reality? Probably wouldn't bother.

Will · 10-02-2009, 10:37

The Greeks would never use cheddar anyway (that's a lie actually as they use a cheese close to cheddar which is basically cheddar but it's the greek version (called kafelotiri, and mix it 50/50 with parmesan). The cypriots put potato in theirs too just for your edification. Also you tend to add breadcrums to the top when browning it off with the cheese. In fact it's all rather magic, and to get a good moussaka is very hard to find and most restaurants unfortunately do very generic and bland versions

Glaucus · 10-02-2009, 11:53

Cheers will certainly try it with bread crumbs next time. As for potatoes, blasphemy it ruins the dish imo... That's one thing I love about cooking. There's not really any right way or wrong way. As long as you like it, it's all good.

Will · 10-02-2009, 12:29

Agreed. The potatoes were there to soak up the fat, some Cypriot villages don't even eat them! However for a more substantial winter warmer the potatoes do add a nice bit of crunch to them. Sometimes they are just used to line the side of the dish and served as a "side" dish it will have soaked up all the flavours and they literally just melt in the mouth - a strange sensation from potato but absolutely delicious.

Without wanting to take your thread OT - this is the recipie I've always gone by:

* 1 kg aubergines (large or/and elongated variety)
* 160 ml vegetable oil
* 1 large onion, finely sliced
* 450 gr. minced beef/lamb (depending on taste)
* 1 glass white wine (not retsina, but aretsinoto)
* 350 gr. fresh tomatoes, 1400 gr. tomatoes, drained of some of their juice and chopped
* teaspoon ground cinnamon
* teaspoon ground allspice
* salt and black pepper
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* 25 gr. grated parmesan, kefalotiri, or Gruyere cheese
* some chopped parsley

Bechamel Sauce
* 80 gr. butter
* 80 gr. flour
* 600 ml warm milk
* salt and white pepper
* 30 gr. grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese
* 2 egg yolks

Topping
* z 60 gr. grated Parmesan,Gruyere or kefalotiri cheese
* 4 tablespoons toasted breadcrumbs

METHOD

Usually it's recommended that you spread the work involved over two days for your convinience; one can easily cook the meat the day before, witbout the Moussaka suffering at all. Do not do the same with the aubergines; they should be fried on the day.

Aubergines
Top and tail the aubergines, without peeling them. Rinse them, cut them lengthways in 75-mm thick slices and immerse them in salted water, for 30 minutes.Take them out, squeeze gently, rinse, then squeeze them again. Drain them in a colander and pat dry. Fry them in hot vegetable oil until they become pale golden on both sides; you can either deep-fry them, which is easier but they absorb a lot of oil, or shallow-fry them. In either case, drain them on absorbent paper on a flat platter before serving, so that most of their oil will dribble away.

Meat
Sautee the sliced onion in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, until it looks glistening. Add the meat and sautee together, stirring, until all the lumps are broken down and the meat starts to change colour. Pour in the wine, add tomatoes, sliced finely, the spices, salt and pepper and the oregano. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time in case it sticks. Then mix in the grated cheese and parsley.

Bechamel Sauce
Melt the butter and, away from the heat, gradually add the flour and stir to amalgamate. Return to the heat and gradually add the milk and seasoning, stirring continuously. Simmer for 9-10 minutes, stirring, until it has thickened considerably. Withdraw the pan from the heat, let it stand briefly, then add the cheese and the egg yolks. Stir to amalgamate them. Do not let the sauce boil after this. It should by now be a thick bechamel, to enable it to sit on top of the meat mixture and form a kind of crust.

To assemble, cover the base of the roasting dish with half of the fried aubergines, then spread half of the meat mixture evenly on top of them and cover neatly with the remaining aubergines. Spread the remaining meat and sauce evenly over the top and cover neatly with the bechamel sauce. Sprinkle the grated cheese all over the top, and the breadcrumbs. Moussaka from Macedonia may contain a layer of thinly sliced roun potatoes which have been fried first. Bake in a pre-heated oven, gas no.4/ 350 grades F/ 180 grades C, for 1 hour, untit a golden crust is formed all over the top. Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving, in order to be able to cut it more easily. To serve, cut into square or oblong-shaped pieces, about 8 cm thick. It should be quite dry by then and the pieces should ideally stay intact.

This was translated from a greek site so apologies for the slightly disjointed english!

Glaucus · 10-02-2009, 12:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will

Without wanting to take your thread OT - this is the recipie I've always gone by:
!

Not at all post away..

will def give that a try..

lostkat · 10-02-2009, 14:11

How may does that serve Will?

BBx · 10-02-2009, 14:17

Ignore me it was yesterdays... the fatgumpscous nomtastic mwahahah!

BB x

Will · 10-02-2009, 14:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostkat

How may does that serve Will?

Μουσακάς: εξυπηρετεί 6 ανθρώπους

10-02-2009, 08:53	#12
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	Just trying to think how I could reduce the fat a little: - Use marg instead of butter in white sauce. I always do that anyway as it's easier to scoop out of the tub. - Drain off the oil once you've fried the lamb. I actually always fry the meat first and then use the fat to cook the onions/garlic etc. ,so you don't need the oil. I can't say that I've noticed it makes any difference, especially if you're cooking it down for 20+ mins. - Use maybe feta instead of cheddar? Marginally less fat and I love feta. I disagree with low fat cheddar as it tastes like nothing, so I'd never stoop to that level! Hmmmm, wonder how much difference it'd actually make though __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?

10-02-2009, 10:16	#13
Jonny69 Noob Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Socialist Republik of Kent Posts: 5,032	Well you can half the butter in the white sauce for a start, you don't need anywhere near that much. If you want cheesy taste then use extra mature cheddar and less of it. Reality? Probably wouldn't bother. __________________

10-02-2009, 10:37	#14
Will BBx woz 'ere :P Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 2,147,487,208	The Greeks would never use cheddar anyway (that's a lie actually as they use a cheese close to cheddar which is basically cheddar but it's the greek version (called kafelotiri, and mix it 50/50 with parmesan). The cypriots put potato in theirs too just for your edification. Also you tend to add breadcrums to the top when browning it off with the cheese. In fact it's all rather magic, and to get a good moussaka is very hard to find and most restaurants unfortunately do very generic and bland versions __________________ *No No!*

10-02-2009, 11:53	#15
Glaucus Absinthe Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,855	Cheers will certainly try it with bread crumbs next time. As for potatoes, blasphemy it ruins the dish imo... That's one thing I love about cooking. There's not really any right way or wrong way. As long as you like it, it's all good. __________________

10-02-2009, 12:29	#16
Will BBx woz 'ere :P Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 2,147,487,208	Agreed. The potatoes were there to soak up the fat, some Cypriot villages don't even eat them! However for a more substantial winter warmer the potatoes do add a nice bit of crunch to them. Sometimes they are just used to line the side of the dish and served as a "side" dish it will have soaked up all the flavours and they literally just melt in the mouth - a strange sensation from potato but absolutely delicious. Without wanting to take your thread OT - this is the recipie I've always gone by: * 1 kg aubergines (large or/and elongated variety) * 160 ml vegetable oil * 1 large onion, finely sliced * 450 gr. minced beef/lamb (depending on taste) * 1 glass white wine (not retsina, but aretsinoto) * 350 gr. fresh tomatoes, 1400 gr. tomatoes, drained of some of their juice and chopped * teaspoon ground cinnamon * teaspoon ground allspice * salt and black pepper * 1 teaspoon oregano * 25 gr. grated parmesan, kefalotiri, or Gruyere cheese * some chopped parsley Bechamel Sauce * 80 gr. butter * 80 gr. flour * 600 ml warm milk * salt and white pepper * 30 gr. grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese * 2 egg yolks Topping * z 60 gr. grated Parmesan,Gruyere or kefalotiri cheese * 4 tablespoons toasted breadcrumbs METHOD Usually it's recommended that you spread the work involved over two days for your convinience; one can easily cook the meat the day before, witbout the Moussaka suffering at all. Do not do the same with the aubergines; they should be fried on the day. Aubergines Top and tail the aubergines, without peeling them. Rinse them, cut them lengthways in 75-mm thick slices and immerse them in salted water, for 30 minutes.Take them out, squeeze gently, rinse, then squeeze them again. Drain them in a colander and pat dry. Fry them in hot vegetable oil until they become pale golden on both sides; you can either deep-fry them, which is easier but they absorb a lot of oil, or shallow-fry them. In either case, drain them on absorbent paper on a flat platter before serving, so that most of their oil will dribble away. Meat Sautee the sliced onion in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, until it looks glistening. Add the meat and sautee together, stirring, until all the lumps are broken down and the meat starts to change colour. Pour in the wine, add tomatoes, sliced finely, the spices, salt and pepper and the oregano. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time in case it sticks. Then mix in the grated cheese and parsley. Bechamel Sauce Melt the butter and, away from the heat, gradually add the flour and stir to amalgamate. Return to the heat and gradually add the milk and seasoning, stirring continuously. Simmer for 9-10 minutes, stirring, until it has thickened considerably. Withdraw the pan from the heat, let it stand briefly, then add the cheese and the egg yolks. Stir to amalgamate them. Do not let the sauce boil after this. It should by now be a thick bechamel, to enable it to sit on top of the meat mixture and form a kind of crust. To assemble, cover the base of the roasting dish with half of the fried aubergines, then spread half of the meat mixture evenly on top of them and cover neatly with the remaining aubergines. Spread the remaining meat and sauce evenly over the top and cover neatly with the bechamel sauce. Sprinkle the grated cheese all over the top, and the breadcrumbs. Moussaka from Macedonia may contain a layer of thinly sliced roun potatoes which have been fried first. Bake in a pre-heated oven, gas no.4/ 350 grades F/ 180 grades C, for 1 hour, untit a golden crust is formed all over the top. Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving, in order to be able to cut it more easily. To serve, cut into square or oblong-shaped pieces, about 8 cm thick. It should be quite dry by then and the pieces should ideally stay intact. This was translated from a greek site so apologies for the slightly disjointed english! __________________ *No No!*

10-02-2009, 14:11	#18
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	How may does that serve Will? __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?

10-02-2009, 14:17	#19
BBx Reverse SuBo Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: London Posts: 8,673	Ignore me it was yesterdays... the fatgumpscous nomtastic mwahahah! BB x Last edited by BBx; 10-02-2009 at 14:28.