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Red pepper & Aubergine Lasagne

Guest Recipe (Liz Zachopoulos)

Ingredients

  • 1 recipe tomato sauce
  • 1 recipe cheese sauce
  • 4 large red peppers
  • 3 medium or aubergines
  • 500 grams Lasagne sheets
  • 50g parmesan freshly grated.

    • Tomato sauce

  • 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
  • 30ml Olive oil
  • 3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
  • 2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
  • Pinch of sugar

    • Cheese sauce

  • 1 liter of milk
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of flour
  • 50g of butter
  • 200g of grated cheese, a good melting cheese such as gouda, emmental or cheddar.
  • 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg.

Instructions

  1. Tomato sauce: place the chopped tomatoes, half the oil, the garlic, basil and sugar into a saucepan. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer a little longer until the sauce is slightly concentrated. Cool.

  2. Cheese sauce: Put the all the ingredients except for the cheese in a saucepan and bring to the boil slowly whisking all the time. Once thickened, remove from the heat and leave for a minute or two to cool. Add the grated cheese and stir until melted into the sauce.
  3. Cut the peppers into quarters, brush with a little oil and grill for 5-7 minutes each side until charred and tender. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cover the bowl tightly with clingfilm (cellophane wrap). This will loosen the skin of the peppers.
  4. Cut the aubergines lengthways into thick slices , brush with oil and grill for 5-7 minutes each side. Leave to cool.
  5. Peel the cooled peppers.
  6. Grease a large oven proof dish with a little oil and begin layering your lasagne. Start with tomato sauce, then aubergine, red pepper, lasagne sheets and cheese sauce. Finish with lasagne and a coating of cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the grated parmesan.
  7. Bake in the oven at 200 C for 25-30 minutes or until bubbling and golden.
  8. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Variations

Serve with garlic bread and green leafy salad.

Cooking time (duration): 60

Diet type: Vegetarian

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: lunch

Culinary tradition: Greek

My rating:4 stars: ★★★★☆

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Posted: March 7th, 2010
Categories: Greek
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Amaretti

Recipe: little tastes of Venice!

Ingredients

  • 1¼ cups almonds (blanched)
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1½ tsp cornstarch
  • ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • ½ tsp almond extract
  • 1 tbsp amaretto
  • ½ cup brown sugar

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 190 C degrees. Using a food processor, pulse the almonds, cornstarch and confectioners’ sugar until the almonds are very finely chopped.

    2. Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and add the salt. Beat the whites until foamy and light. Gradually add the granulated sugar in a steady stream, and beat until the whites are somewhat stiff and glossy. Beat in the almond extract and amaretto.

    3. Gently fold in the ground-almond mixture. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of batter onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle generously with brown sugar.

    4. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are pale golden and begin to crack slightly, about 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 100 degrees. Leave oven door ajar and let cookies stand in oven until completely dry and crisp, 25-30 minutes more. Let cookies cool briefly on baking sheets, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Cooking time (duration): 50

Number of servings (yield): 40

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: Italian

My rating:4 stars: ★★★★☆

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Posted: February 18th, 2010
Categories: Candy, Dessert, italian
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JC Chocolate Caramel Sauce with Strawberries

Ingredients

  • 500 grams strawberries
  • 1/4 chocolate bites
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • pinch salt

Instructions

  1. Over high heat, melt the sugar for about 2 minutes until transformed into a deep golden caramel.
  2. Add the caramel mixture and pour into the cream then return it to heat and cook until caramel and cream are smoothly dissolved.
  3. Remove from heat, add chocolate and salt and stir until chocolate melts.
  4. Finally, add butter to the mixture.
  5. When cooled drizzle the caramel chocolate sauce over your strawberry dish.

Variations

replace strawberries with any other fruits.

Cooking time (duration): 30

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: Middle Eastern

My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★

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Posted: January 26th, 2010
Categories: Dessert, Dip
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Peanut Butter BuckEye

Ingredients

  • 1 jar peanut butter

  • 1 small pack butter (melted)
  • 6 cups icing sugar
  • 4 cups dark chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Mix together peanut butter, melted butter and sugar.

  2. Roll the dough into munch like balls.
  3. Stick each ball in a toothpick and align on a cookie sheet.
  4. Froze for 40 minutes.
  5. Bain-marie chocolate until smooth.
  6. Dip rolled balls in chocolate.
  7. Leave a small portion of balls without chocolate thus the look of a Buckeye.
  8. Refrigerate until served.

Cooking time (duration): 50

Number of servings (yield): 6

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: USA (Southern)

My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★

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Posted: December 20th, 2009
Categories: Dessert
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Sweet Potato Casserole with Praline Topping

Ingredients

  • Potato Mixture:

  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 1/2 kgs fresh sweet potatoes , boiled, drained, peeled and mashed (or 6 cups)
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    1/2 teaspoon each of ground nutmeg and allspice

    Topping:

  • 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1/3 cup butter or margarine, cut in small pieces

    For garnish:

  • 12 pecan halves

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 180 C (or 350 F).
    Grease a shallow 2 liters baking dish.

    Potato Mixture:

  2. Beat eggs in a large bowl.
  3. Stir in potatoes until blended.
  4. Add remaining ingredients; mix well.
  5. Spread evenly in prepared baking dish.

    Topping:

  6. Mix sugar, flour and nuts in a medium-size bowl.
  7. Work in butter with hands until well blended. Bake 60-70 minutes until topping is browned and bubbling.
  8. Garnish with pecan halves.

Cooking time (duration): 90

Diet type: Vegetarian

Number of servings (yield): 12

Meal type: lunch

Culinary tradition: USA (Southern)

My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★

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Riz B Halib (Lebanese Rice pudding)

Ingredients

  • 1.5 liter milk

  • 1 cup round rice
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons orange bloom water (or rosewater)

Instructions

  1. Cook the rice in boiling water until the water is completely absorbed.

  2. Boil the milk and add the orange bloom water, the sugar and cooked rice.
  3. Stir until boiling point then allow to cook on low heat for about 30 min.
  4. Serve cold with a hint of cinnamon on top.

Quick Notes

garnish with rose petal jam, some sliced almonds.

Variations

replace rose petal jam with honey

Cooking time (duration): 50

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: snack

Culinary tradition: Middle Eastern(Lebanese)

My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★

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Posted: December 4th, 2009
Categories: Dessert, Lebanese
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Hot Chocolate

Summary: creamy and comforting

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

  • 1 cup and 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 5-1/4 cups milk
  • 3/4 cup half-and-half cream

Instructions

  1. Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan.

  2. Blend in the boiling water.
  3. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir.
  4. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn’t scorch.
  5. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil!
  6. Remove from heat.
  7. Serve with some cream on top and Hershey’s kisses.

Variations

you can add some ginger or peppermint flakes on top.

Cooking time (duration): 7

Number of servings (yield): 6

Meal type: breakfast

My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★

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Posted: November 25th, 2009
Categories: General
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Cannoli del Mio Moroso

Ingredients

    Shells:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 30 grams Crisco
  • 50 grams sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 10 tbsp. of water (or white wine preferred)
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

    Filling:

  • 2.5 cups of milk
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 0.5 cup of cornstarch
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

    Shell making:

  1. Mix all the ingredients together except the egg till they form a small ball.
  2. Add the egg to the mix and slowly add the water/wine till you get the dough.
  3. Refrigerate the dough for about ~3 hours.
  4. Roll it thin.
  5. Use a cup or a glass to cut the rolled dough.
  6. Wrap the cut circles around the tube and seal the edge with some water.
  7. Fry the cannoli shells in the tubes in oiluntil deep golden brown.
  8. Pull the tubes from oil and slide the shell off the tube.
  9. Place the shells on paper towel to soak up extra oil and cool down.

    Filling:

  10. Heat sugar, milk, and cinnamon, leaving a little milk out to mix with the cornstarch.
  11. Add cornstarch/milk mixture when milk comes to a boil.
  12. Mix until thick while stirring continuously.
  13. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
  14. Add the vanilla and stir it with the mixture.

    Finishing:

  15. Use a cake decorator’s bag to fill the shells, and dip the ends of the filled cannoli shells into the nuts or chocolate mixture.

    Enjoy!

Variations

You can use ricotta cheese instead of cream to fill the cannolis.

Cooking time (duration): 240

Number of servings (yield): 12

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: Italian

My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★

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Posted: November 7th, 2009
Categories: Dessert
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