MAKE MINE A MOUSSAKA

I was stuck with a lot of minced beef last week - it sat in the fridge for a few days, staring at me with contempt. How to use it. "Not another lasagna!" we seemed to say to each other, "try something new!" the mince added, rather unkindly. So I fondled my cupboards and they graciously responded with a bag of raisins and some pistachio nuts. Pistachios, you may be interested to learn, are a nut my Persian father regularly fed my sister and I when we were wee - the connotations of this particular nut are endlessly nostalgic for me. A Middle Eastern jingle started to play in my head and with it I scurried to the supermarket, khombaks plinking, to make this dream a reality. I returned with some limes, coriander, yoghurt and aubergines and we were off - hurtling past Greece into the depths of the Middle East (whilst staying firmly put in Clerkenwell.)

I've never had Moussaka before (sorry!) but from what I've read it's pretty much a Greek lasagna - instead of beef, lamb and instead of pasta, aubergines with a bit of oregano and cinnamon. This was just not enough for me. No. The mince and I had other ideas. Last week's fish without chips had left me with a swelling spice drawer and I wanted to play! Looking back, the Greeks seem to have got it right - lamb instead of beef would have completed my heritage themed moussaka nicely, but the beef I used in the end worked charmingly.

Now to thank mother, fondly known as 'Bong'. Had she not told me about Evelyn Rose's moussaka earlier this week I doubt the idea would have even dared enter my small brain. So, thanks to both parents, a Jewish/Persian Moussaka has arrived on the scene and it's a good'un.

So Colourful: Middle Eastern Moussaka

Ingredients (this serves 6)

For the meat filling
600g minced beef/lamb
2 onions
4 large tomatoes, cut into quarters
A handful of pistachios
A handful of raisins
1 inch of ginger, grated
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tsps caster sugar
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
Zest of half a lime
Tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sumac
1 tbsp smoked paprika
 salt and pepper

For the aubergines
3 aubergines, sliced lengthways
1 big glug of olive oil

For the topping
6 tbsps of yoghurt
2 egg yolks
Juice of 1 lime
Zest of half a lime


How to...

...cook the beef/lamb
First Preheat the oven at 140°C. Rub the beef or lamb with smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
Brown in a hot pan in small batches to get a good, even colour. When the meat is browned, sprinkle with sumac. Set aside in it's own bowl.

Onions, Turmeric, Cinnamon, Tomatoes, Raisins, Pistachios, Coriander

...deal with the onions
Thinly slice the onions and fry them slowly in oil. If the pan dries, add a little bit of water. When they're looking nicely jellyfishy (transparent and squidgy), add the ginger, turmeric and cinnamon. Make sure the spices are nicely cooked out - undercooked spices is one of my worsts - it makes for a grim, gritty texture and who wants to eat raw spices?! Set aside the onions in a bowl.

...cook the tomatoes
Rinse out the pan and fry the tomatoes in the olive oil on a low heat. When the tomatoes start to lose their shape a little, add the garlic and shortly after a tsp of caster sugar. Add the lime zest. Again, if the pan gets dry, don't be afraid to add a little more water. Set aside with the onions.

..cook the raisins and pistachios
Rinse out the pan and fry the raisins and the pistachios with a tsp of sugar. When the pistachios start to brown, put the mixture in the bowl with the tomatoes and onions.

...deal with the aubergines and combine
At this stage, combine all the ingredients in a bowl (browned meat and vegetables) with the coriander.
Next, fry the aubergines until they are well browned. Place them on kitchen towel and sprinkle them with sea salt.
In an ovenproof serving dish, layer the meat and aubergine starting and finishing with the meat mixture and place it in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
Once cooked, allow to cool.

Layers of spiced meat and aubergine...just one more meat layer to go!

For the topping:
Mix together all the ingredients and when the moussaka is cool, add the topping. Now cook for another 25 minutes. So nice and yellow from the yolks!

Middle Eastern Moussaka

Salaam my new favourite 'bake'.

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

I'm obsessed by my local butchers shop, McKanna Meats. It's the real thing - all kinds of animals hanging from the ceiling, lines outside every morning and it's a genuine thrill just going in there. In fact I've walked most of my friends up the road to visit. It's not just the atmosphere and the fact that everyone working there is so friendly: the meat is reliably amazing, good value and they really know what they're talking about. 

One of my favourite things amongst the goodies are their chorizo sausages. I've not found any like these anywhere, apart from Brindisa who sell a pack of five 'dulce chorizo' online for £18.95!!! McKanna's are equally sweet, not stuffed with peppers like the supermarket variety and not particularly spicy. Personally, I don't love the food I buy to come spiced, I'd rather create the 'heat' level myself, so aside from anything else, these are a flexible choice.

I'm always looking for an excuse to buy these delicious sausages and when one of the butchers told me about a dish he'd recently made with the chorizo, black pudding and pancetta (which I also find unbelievably exciting - it comes in a block!!) I was determined to give it a go myself. It has evolved a bit since the first time I made it, simply because it's easier to serve it this way.

This is a rich and meaty dish. I'd serve it with a rocket salad with olives and sundried tomatoes, or some new potatoes with a simple nob of butter. Or both!

Ravaged Chicken

Ingredients
1 chicken, de-boned. If you're scared about boning it yourself, ask your butcher to.
4 chorizo sausages, cut into 1 inch chunks
100g Spanish black pudding, crumbled into large-ish chunks
100g Pancetta, chopped into 1 inch chunks
2 shallots, sliced
A nob of butter
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
A handful of mixed wild mushrooms
A handful of sage
A sprig of rosemary
Zest of half a lemon
A glug of olive oil
Salt and black pepper to season
2 skewers

Oven On
Preheat your oven to 170°C on the fan setting.


Prepare the Stuffing
For the stuffing, fry the pancetta in a very lightly oiled pan on a high heat. It's very fatty, so the oil is just there to help render down the fat. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside. With the fat left in the pan, fry the sage until it's crispy but not discoloured and add this to the bowl. Continuing in the same way, fry the chorizo and then the black pudding.
Clean the pan and sweat the shallots with some of the butter on a low heat. Add this to the bowl.
Add the rest of the butter to the pan with the mushrooms, sprig of rosemary and the garlic. Once the mushrooms have changed colour and absorbed the butter, add it all to the bowl.


Assemble
Now, lay the de-boned chicken skin-side down on a clean chopping board and cover with stuffing, spooning it on until about two thirds is covered. Start rolling it, starting from the stuffed end, as tightly as you can and secure with two skewers.
Place the stuffed bird on a roasting tin and pour over the olive oil, lemon zest and season with salt and plenty of pepper. Cook at 170°C fan for an hour and slice it at the table.