[Catherine]

We've just come back from a week in Greece for my OH's 50th and we had a moussaka in a old greek tavern in the middle of nowhere it was fabulous but it had a base of potatoes and I cant remember seeing a moussaka recipe with a base of potatoes.  Has anyone else see a recipe with this in it. If I cant get a recipe then it will be trial and error.  We only started eating aubergines recently and love them.  In Kefalonia we had then dipped in flour and deep fried absolutely fabulous very fluffy in the and crispy outside.

[Daisycow]

Hi Catherine, I love greek stuff!! There is a book called Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros that has a moussaka recipe in it with potatoes. The book has lots of other good recipes, if you like moussaka, try pastitsio, thats my favourite and fairly easy to make!    Hope this is useful!

[Catherine]

Thanks for that DC I will try and get the book and experiment. We love greek food, well any food really.  Tonight I am making spicy hot mixed bean chilli with corn bread topping out of a low cooker recipe book.  It smells divine.

[Catherine]

DC Where do you get your recipe from for pastitsio as the one I used was from Rick Steins Mediterranean Escapes and my note on the recipe said took a long time to make.  Maybe you have a quicker one.  But it was very good.

[wighty]

Pastitsio

Cook 8 oz macaroni until al dente.  Drain, rinse and drain again..  Heat 2 tbsp oil and fry 1 onion and 2 tsp garlic until soft, add 1 lb mince and cook until borwn.  Sir in 11 fl oz beef stock, 2 tbsp tom puree and 1 tsp cinnamon an 1 tbsp mint chopped, simmer 15 mins.  Make a white saus with half pint milk and 5 oz nat. yog.  Add 6 oz grated cheddar.  Put macaroni in cheese sause.  Put half macaroni in dish add meat sauce, cover with rest of macaroni and bake 45 mins 190 C gas 5.


Hope this recipe helps.;

[Daisycow]

The pastitsio recipe is the one before the moussaka recipe in the same book. Its slightly different to Wighty's (which sounds yummy too   ). If I cook it, it usually takes about an hour and a half-2 hours to cook from start to finish (I do faff and take my time) but you bake it in the oven for 40 mins. Sometimes I half the recipe, sometimes I cook it using the amounts from the book, but as there's only two of us, it usually feeds us the next day and a couple of days after for me at work!  

[Daisycow]

Hope you enjoyed the chilli, sounds nice too!!  

[Catherine]

Thanks DC and Wighty.  Will try that recipe.  My chilli bean was absolutely fabulous will definately make it again if you want the recipe I will PM you with the full recipe, DC.

[Oliveview]

I bought the book Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros it is great.  I got my sister to order it from Amazon, she had it sent to the MIL´s house when hubby was there and he bought it home in his hand luggage, he travels light!  Well he would have traveled light, he said could I not have bought a lighter book It is a tad on the heavy side

It is a great book, except the method for the recipes is written soooo small!  Wonderful photos in the book.  Even if you don´t use the recipes it is a good book to look at and read
I made the moussaka for tea tonight, it took me ages, still next time I will know how to make it.  I´ve frozen 3 ready as the mixture made enough for 8.  
Excellent book thanks for telling us about it Daisycow
Pamela

[chrissie B]

i love moussaka its so homey and pasticio as well the very first one i made years ago , i was told to salt the aubergines and i did but forgot to rinse it of all that work but hubby bravely ate it with lots of water, god i love that man of mine .
Chrissie b

[Oliveview]

The recipe said to salt the potatoes well after cooking them, so I did :shock:   Next time I won´t   Got to watch hubbys blood pressure
Pamela

[Oliveview]

I cooked the  pastitsio recipe from the Falling Cloudberries book and all I can say is it is a shame I froze the rest of the mixture     Not because it was horrid, it was really good  and I wanted a 2nd helping :cry:  
I am not a great pasta lover, but this one I will cook again and again and again.  I´m  sure it isn´t good for my waist line though
Pamela